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W ' •/ 

THE 

f ■ 

FALL OF BETHAR 

V A 

\ 

Historical Romance, 



J[bojtl0b from oftrom. 

i 

I ^ 

By DA VTD STERN, 

y 

Rahhi of the Temple Congregation of Peoiia, III. 



Press of 

Max Stern, Goldsmith 
Chicago. 


. }7o...hSM.JU; ' 


Co. 


y1 OM 



S 


Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1879, ^y. 
David Stern, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



INTRODUCTION. 


The Jewish Advance in its issue 
of x\ugust 15th, 1879, writes as follows : 

“ The Fall of Bethar” is concluded in 
this issue, and will be ready for sale in 
pamphlet form. 

It was not for the mere purpose of 
having an interesting story in the Jew- 
ish Advance, that we had requested 
Rev. David Stern, of Peoria, to trans- 
late the “ Fall of Bethar.” Our object 
was to combine the useful with the 
pleasant, to bring before our readers il- 
lustrations of an important epoch of 
history, with the coloring of the time 
and manners of the most prominent 
actors. We truly believe that at the 
present time, when ancient Egypt and 
Assyria are called into resurrection by 
science ; when tl^e art of novel-writing 
plies her magic wand to cover with flesh 
and to breathe the spirit of life into the 
dry bones which archaeological research 
gathers from the distant parts of 
Africa and Asia — that, at this time, 
it will not be uninteresting to our 
brethren' to read a truthful and typ- 
ical sketch from Jewish history in the 
shape of a novel. 

“ The fall of Bethar ” occurred about 
sixty-five years after the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem. The rebellion of 
the Jews against the Romans under the 
enthusiastic and valiant leader Bar 
Cochba, which terminated with the 
destruction of Bethar, cost more blood 
than many great wars which have 


been fought before and since that event. 
No less a person than Rabbi Akiba 
supported Bar Cochba in his aspira- 
tions. In a recent paper in the Contem- 
jporary Review (for July, 1879), Renan 
treated at length upon “ the last Jewish 
Revolt,” and presented Rabbi Akiba as 
an unpractical enthusiast, for having 
lent his influence and his help to that 
rebellion. But the Jewish World, of 
London, very pertinently and suggest- 
ively corrects the French savant : 

“Akiba was by no means an unprac- 
tical man ; he knew surely enough what 
would be the direful result of encourag- 
ing this man. By what reasons then 
could he have been actuated ? It is in 
this respect — the very point upon which 
the whole history of Bar Cochba turns 
— that we think Renan misinterprets 
Akiba’s character. He is constrained 
to say, “that either his democratic origin 
misled him, or the absurdity of his 
exegesis deprived him of all practical 
rectitude.” We think that Akiba’s con- 
duct should be judged on quite different 
grounds. Akiba saw that the safety of 
Judaism, although it might involve the 
destruction of many thousands of Jews, 
depended upon the organization of a 
vigorous resistance to Rome. Rome 
had prohibited circumcision, and had 
profaned Jerusalem by the erection of a 
heathen temple on the Holy Mount. 
Had the Judaeans acquiesced in these 
intolerances, their bodies would have 
been safe, but their religion would have 
been doomed. In the sense, therefore, 
of encouraging the Jews to resist these 
encroachments on their religious liberty, 
Bar Cochba, whether he was an adven- 
turer or not, was a Messiah. Akiba was 


Introduction. 


an.vthin.s: but a foolish enthusiast, and 
he was of all men the one to counsel 
peace, if it had not been a question of 
upholding Judaism. At any rate, he 
was ready to jirove the sincerity of his 
opinions by his death ; and he did so. 
And the subsequent course of events 
showed that the view he took of the re- 
ligious situation was the only correct 
and practical one. For although nearly 
a million Jewish lives had been sacri- 
ficed during this war, still sixty years 
afterwards we find the Jewish commu- 
nity re-established and paying spiritual 
allegiance to the I^atriarchs of Tiberias 
and the Captivity. The nation had risen 
Phoenix-like, and what is more, thanks 
to Akiba, its religious institutions had 
remained undisturbed.” 

The story of that great rebellion is 
given in the sketch before us, not only 
in its outlines, but the persons at action 
are brought forward in their original 
types; they are made to speak their own 
language and to express their own sen- 
timents in their own manner. We have 
shown in a few foot-notes how the au- 
thor of this work followed almost step 
by step the sayings and traditions of 
talinudical writers who had lived near 
the time when the rebellion took place. 
If we would have continued our notes 
throughout the work, they might have 
taken more space than would be practica- 


ble for the purpose. But every learned 
reader will find that the author has not 
narrated a single fiict, nor used even 
one metaphor which can not be found in 
the Talmud or Medrashini. 

The author of the “Fall of Betliar” in 
Hebrew is our venerable friend and 
townsman, the renowned Kalman Schul- 
man, ofVilna. He is one of our fore- 
most Hebrew literati of the Lithuanian 
school. Since about a half century he 
works for the purpose of elevating the 
Hebrew tongue, and by his works he has 
proven that our sacred ancient tongue is 
living and full of sweetness and of 
strength, as it was in the time when the 
revelations of God were expressed in it 
by the prophets. Mr. Kalman Schulman 
is still at his work of love. He is en- 
gaged now in a translation of Graetz’s 
History of Judaism into Hebrew. 

Bev. I)r. Stern has done ample justice 
to the original of Schulman’s narrative, 
in as far as translating from the concise 
and poetical Hebrew into a practicable 
English can be done. We hope that 
“ The Fall of Bethar ” will circulate 
largely in pamphlet form, and will rouse 
the readers to an interest in the history 
of our race. 


Chapter I. 

The Eebellion Resolved Upon. 

A tempest laden cloud rests upon the 
fortification of Bethar; its huge towers 
arc destroyed, its gates broken, and its 
strong bolts have been cut away. Its 
arsenals and army quarters are leveled 
to the ground, and the tops of its towers 
present a sombre, sad, mournful appear- 
ance. The Homan soldiers walk the 
streets with pride; before them goes 
butchery, and at their heels follows mur- 
der. With jeers they pour out their an- 
ger and contempt upon the Jews, the 
nation whom they had vanquished. The 
Jews who dwell in that city move along 
the streets like shadows, they bear the 
appearance of men who no longer have 
any hope or ambition. But their hearts 
are yet unwilling to be humbled by the 
Homans, and their minds yet refuse to 
be ruled by the iron hand of the victors. 
In secret they grind their teeth, and in 
their houses many an one plans battles 
and prognosticates victories. Alas, for 
the house of Judah! The zealots are 
not yet dead; there are yet some who 
scheme enterprises which may be de- 
structive for the remnant of Jacob, and 
whose desire it is to lead the precious 
remainder of the children of Zion to 


slaughter. These zealots moved about 
like the pestilence in the dark, spreading 
feelings of, vengeance and rebellion 
among the people of Bethar, advising 
them to use the sword of retaliation 
against the Homans — a nation strong 
and powerful, whose dominion extends 
throughout all parts of the earth and the 
isles afar. 

But now a day has arrived when 
even the Jewish heart is humbled, when 
their souls are entirely subdued. Every 
man’s hands are upon his loins, sacks 
are upon their bodies, and their heads 
are covered with ashes. The whole na- 
tion, small and great, pine their souls 
by fast; they shed hot tears and mourn 
bitterly. On this day — it is the ninth 
day of the fifth month* — all the resi- 
dents of the city assemble into the house 
of prayer; there they pour out the strong 
and painful oppression of their hearts, 
caused by their poverty, persecution and 
sufierings. Sixty years have now passed 
since the day when their land was de- 
stroyed and their temple ruined, and still 
they had not forgotten for one moment 
their holy mountain and their divine 
sanctuary. The Homans have degraded, 
persecuted and maltreated them ; they 

* The (lay on which the first and second tem- 
ples were destroyed. 


9 


The Fall of Bethar. 


have trodden upon them as upon dust, 
and although upon the streets they 
seemed quite calm and subdued, as pla- 
cid as marble, in their hearts they bore 
intense hatred and a burning desire for 
revenge, and here in their miniature 
sanctuary they gave vent to their grief 
and their tears flowed. They read the 
Book of Lamentations, whose words 
burn like fire, and whose sentences can 
melt even a heart of stone. 

AVhen they had finished reading the 
scroll, a deep silence reigned in the 
house of prayer, and an aged man upon 
whose countenance was inscribed sanctity, 
solemnity and grief, rose from amid the 
congregation and ascended the steps of 
the pulpit to address the assembled wor- 
shippers. That man was Ilabbi Eliezer 
Hamodai, a man honored by even the 
highest aristocracy of the Boman empire 
and respected at the ])alace of the mighty 
emperor Adrian, lie opened his mouth 
with wisdom, and began to speak words 
of consolation as well as of mourning to 
the hearts of his brethren, lie spoke 
in this manner: ‘‘Alas, my brethren and 
my nation, we have sinned and trans- 
gressed again and again, and for this we 
have received punishment from the 
hand of God, for it is now the second 
time that our country has been laid 
waste and our tem])le burned on this very 
day. Alas! on this day our city was de- 
stroyed and the glory of our sanctuary 
departed. On this day our crown fell 
from our head, the diadem of Israel came 
down, it i'cll from the height of the stars 
to the depths of the earth; it fell, and 
has not yet arose again. The children 
of the strangers who worshi]) imlluted 
idols now rule over our holy land, and 
have placed their abominations upon the 
mountain consecrated to our God. 
Through their hands the Daily Sacrifices 
have been abolished, the house of God 
has been ruined, and the incense of the 
burnt-offering no more ascends to the 


throne of God. In the place whence 
chants of hallelujahs ascended to the 
God of glory, there now ascend shouts of 
lust to the honor of idols and deaf ima- 
ges, and in the Holy of Holies, the holy 
resting place of the most High, there 
now stand idols and molten images. W oc 
unto us, the God of our fathers has be- 
come wrath with us for we have disobeyed 
his commands and rebelled against his 
laws. Even now, when we have returned 
to Him with all our hearts, He has de- 
parted from us. His spirit has become 
displeased with the congregation of Is- 
rael. Salvation is not wrought in the 
land; our wonderful redemption is far, 
far away; there is no longer any prophet, 
no visions are seen, and no one of us 
knoweth how long this is to continue. 
When will God become appeased from 
his anger, and have mercy again with 
his people; when will God pardon the 
remnant of Judah, and be reconciled to 
the remainder of the flock which is de- 
livered unto slaughter? But let us not 
despair my friends and brethren; let us 
not complain against God who is just 
and righteous; let not our hearts fail us 
nor our spirits grow faint. Behold God 
is near to all the broken-hearted who 
call upon Him from the depths of afflic- 
tion, and return unto Him with all their 
heart and soul. God who neither slum- 
bers nor sleeps is guarding us. His eye 
constantly watches us, even though ho 
may appear to have forgotten us. (yaii a 
woman forget him whom she loved from 
the womb, her only son? Even so can 
we be forgotten. The Lord our God will 
neither leave nor forsake us; the eternal 
mountains may move, and the everlast- 
ing hills may quake, but the covenant of 
His protection will n )t depart from us, 
and the promise which He has given to 
our ancestors in days of old, will never 
be broken. The heaven with all its hosts 
may fade like a leaf; the earth with all 
its productions may disappear like 


The Fall of Bethar. 


3 


smoke, but the word of our God will 
stand forever. Therefore come and let 
us return to God; let the prayers of our 
lips replace the rams; let us sacrifice to 
God the evil passions of our hearts in- 
stead of oxen, and the sinful desires of 
our souls instead of sheep and goats. 
Let us erect an altar to God in the re- 
cesses of our hearts, and let us conse- 
crate a sanctuary to the Bock of Jacob 
in the privacy of our souls. Let us lift 
up our prayers to the living God for the 
peace of our king the Caesar Adrian, 
who was made king by God the King of 
kings; let us pray for the prosperity of 
his large and powerful country, for 
through the welfare of our king and his 
country we also will have peace, and will 
remain unmolested and undisturbed.” 

That holy man had not yet finished 
his words of wisdom, when murmuring 
voices could be heard in all the corners 
of the house. The words of the speaker 
could no longer be heard for the confu- 
sion became greater and deeper every 
moment, when finally some impudent 
man arose and exclaimed loudly: “This 
man desires not the prosperity of Israel, 
for he is a beloved friend of the Bomans, 
our enemies, and the destroyers of our 
land. He has sold himself to them, and 
has become a traitor towards his breth- 
ren and the land of his birth, and there- 
fore he advises us to humble ourselves 
before the blasphemers of God, and to 
bear the iron yoke which that tyrannical 
nation has put upon our necks.” 

Words like these stirred the depths of 
the heart of Babbi Eliezer Hamodai, 
and he wanted to answer his abusers; he 
wanted to show them the great reward 
which is in store for those Israelites who 
would faithfully try to promote the in- 
terests of their king. He wanted to ex- 
plain to them the consequences of a re- 
bellion, and how much evil it would 
cause. But his words were drowned in 
the stormy confusion of the assembly, 


which made a noise like the billows of 
the ocean; so he stopped speaking. 

In the midst of these outbursts of 
passion there arose a young man from 
his seat and raised up his hand to signify 
that he desired to speak to the assembly. 
In a moment the storm ceased and the 
tempest became calm. The eyes of the 
assembly turned upon the young man, 
and their ears were anxious to listen to 
his words. The young man’s face was as 
white as marble, but his eyes were like 
two lakes of fire, his lips betrayed anger, 
vexation courage and firmness, and his 
whole appearance was like a snow-cov- 
ered volcano. Like a pillar of fire he 
stood up in the pulpit; the audience was 
spell-bound by his imposing appearance; 
profound silence reigned throughout the 
house, and thus spoke the young man 
with a voice of tliunder: “Let the nation 
of Abraham’s God listen to me; listen to 
me, so may God listen to you! You 
all know that from the day we became a 
nation until now, our enemies have been 
many. The descendants of Ham made 
us labor hard; they imposed upon us ab- 
ject slavery; and because Joseph fed 
them in a time of famine, they murdered 
our children and threw them into the 
river. The children of Assyria injured 
us for naught, and attempted our de- 
struction again and again. The Babylo- 
nians wronged us still more; our holy 
cities and our God’s temple they de- 
stroyed by fire and God’s chosen people 
they butchered. But all these nations 
did not sink into iniquity as deep as the 
Bomans; they did not pollute the tem- 
ple, nor profane the name of Jacob’s God 
in the manner that these barbarous Bo- 
mans do.* Alas! I have seen the afflic- 
tions of my nation, and the sight has 
sickened me. I have heard their cry of 

*Dio Cassius (69, 13) writes that Adrian has 
caused the statue of Zeus to be erected on the 
place where the temple had been standing', and 
this has stirred the J ews to rebellion. 


4 


Ttte Fall of Bethar 


distress and the sound has pierced my 
heart. This accursed and idolatrous na- 
tion blasphemes the name of Isrdel s 
God, and their unclean lips constantly 
make a jest of his TI 0 I 3 ’ word.* ith re- 
morseless cruelty they plunder our hou- 
ses and rob our fields, they outrage our 
wives and daughters and murder our 
sons; or, still worse, they beguile them 
- with flattery and cause them to worship 
their abominable idols. They prevent us 
from worshipping the God of truth and 
will not permit us to observe llis laws. 
Now, friends and brethren, children and 
heritage of the living God, how long shall 
the eneni}" blaspheme His name; how 
long shall they vex us with their nonsen- 
sical images and foreign gods; how long 
shall they prevent us from observing the 
sign of God’s eternal covenant with Abra- 
ham?! How much longer shall we wor- 
ship the exalted Elohim in insignificant 
wooden houses, while we know how to 
sing His praises with coronets and tim- 
brels? Awake! ye children of the living 
God! arouse, arouse yourselves, ye armies 
of the mighty Lord! With the aid of 
God’s right hand we will be victorious 
and defeat our enemies; we will tread 
them down even as dust; we will exter- 
minate them from under the heavens of 


* Upon the verse of Ps. LXIX, 13: “They 
that sit in the gate speak against me. and I am 
the song of the drunkards.’’ the rabbis say in 
the Medrash and TMlmiid as follows; This 
alludes to the gentiles who sit in their theatres 
and wine houses and make merry at my ex- 
pense. If they are asked the cause of their 
great merriment they answer because they 
need not sutler destruction like the Jews. One 
asks the other: “how long wilt thou live?’’ and 
he answers: As long as the Sabbath dress of a 
Jew, which is used only once a week and taken 
well care of. They bring a camel into the thea- 
tre all wrapt in mourning, then one asks, why 
does this camuel mourn? And the answer is: 
it is the Jewish Sabbat h-ycar in which thej- 
neither sow nor reap and they have eaten up 
all the thorns belonging to that poor animal. 
(Sec Mcdrash to Lamentation). I'^rom this it 
follows that popular a<^ue> as well as in the 
public resorts of pleasiire, the Jews and rheir 
religious usages have been cruelly mocked at 
by the Romans. 

+ Spargianus report that an insurrecction 
under Rar Kochi >a has been caused by a 
decree of Adrian ])rohibiting the Israelites.to 
])errorm the Abrahamitic rite on their chil- 
dren. 


our God! For our God is strong and 
mighty, great and powerful in battle. He 
is encircled by the thunder and with his 
hands he hurls the lightning! Know, my 
nation and brethren, ‘'that a star! has 
now come out of Jacob and a sceptre 
has arisen from Israel, he will smite the 
corners of Edom+ and utterly destroy the 
City. The armies of the KitiinU shall 
sink like lead in water, and Israel will 
attain victory. AVe shall once more be- 
come great, high and powerful. God’s 
temple shall be rebuilt upon the high 
mountain. His sanctuary shall be re- 
established upon the lofty elevation, and 
to it all the nations shall flock and listen 
to the words of the living God from the 
mouths of our prophets, priests and sa- 
ges, and to worship the Most High in his 
temple at Jerusalem.’’ 

The words of the enthusiastic youth 
were well liked by the assembled audi- 
tors; in a moment their mourning was 
turned into joy, and their fast to a feast 
day. They exclaimed, unanimously: 
“Why do we sit here on the ground 
mourning and crying, while we can fight 
and attain victory! Let us arouse and 
throw off the yoke, so that we may live 
in our land in independence and free- 
dom! Let us rebuild our temple, and 
worship our God as our ancestors have 
done from'time imemorial!” 

Once more did Rabbi Eliezer Hamo- 
dai arise, and he exclaimed: “Listen, 0 
ye would-be rebels! hearken to my 
words ye blind and deluded people, lis- 
ten to the advice of your old teacher 
that your souls will live. Follow not the 

tThe aTithor uses in these passages the diction 
of Numbers XXIV 18. “A star shall come 
forth from Jacob, and, a sceptre shall 

arise from Israel’ M'^hich has been applied to Rar 
Kochba bj" Rabbi Akiba Jer. Taanith ch. IV; 
Medrash to Lamentations II, and parallel 
places. 

t Edom and Yir (city), have been used by 
the Talmudists as designations for the Romans 
and the city of Rome 

H ‘ Kiltim,’’ which occurs in Daniel XI, 30 
has been accepted for “Romans” by ancient 
Targums and commentators. 


The Fall of Bethar. 


5 


advice of this crazy youth! Forsake not 
the advice of experienced men to follow 
that of boys, as king Rechaboan did, 
lest your fetters be tightened and you 
be chastised with scorpions instead of 
being punished with rods. Alas! I pre- 
dict you that you are hurrying to the pit 
of destruction, and that you will cause 
the blood of the remnant of Israel to be 
shed. This is not an acceptable day, but 
a day of misfortune and trouble, a day 
of mourning and affliction; it is the day 
on which our land was destroyed and 
God’s temple burned twice. As true as 
God liveth your plans will not succeed, 
and all your labor will be in vain. I see 
Israel’s redemption, but it is not now; I 
behold Jacob’s independence, but it is 
not near. For the present there has 
arisen an impostor from Jacob and a 
ROD over Judah.* he will destroy the 
corners of Jeshurn, and will exterminate 
the remnant of Israel. Listen to me, 0 
ye descendants of Jacob, follow my ad- 
vice, and in the end you will be glad of 
it. Bend your shoulders and bear in si- 
lence the punishment that God has in- 
flicted upon you for your transgressions; 
serve faithfully the king whom the 
Eternal has set over you, and rebel not 
against him nor God Almighty that 
gave him power over you. Are you not 
satisfied with the misery, destruction 
and privation which our land has suffered 
in the days of Vespasian and Titus, 
through the means of zealots and con- 
spirators? Are you not contented with 
the rivers of blood which through rebels 
was shed as water?” 

The words of the venerable sage were 
not listened to this time either, for the 
assembled congregation called out in one 

* The same verso of Nnm. xxiv, 18, which has 
been quoted above, is used here in a felicitous 
play of words. which means a star, is 

turned into an impostor, with reference to 
Bar-Kochba, who was also called Bar-Kosiba, 
and 12'2'W can be used for “rod’ as well as 
“sceptre.” 


voice: “It is better for us to fall in bat- 
tle than to bear any longer the iron yoke 
which the accursed Romans have put 
upon our necks. It is better for us, our 
wives and children, to die than to serve 
those who blaspheme our God, and to be 
trodden upon by their feet.” In vain 
did Rabbi Eliezer warn them that they 
would be exterminated, in vain did he 
picture to them the results of a rebel- 
lion and the great evil it would cause, in 
vain did he entreat and implore them to 
forsake their hazardous intentions, his 
precious words and pious admonitions 
were wasted. For their ears refused to 
listen, and their minds would not com- 
prehend; from every corner thousands 
of voices shouted: “Let one of the de- 
scendants of David be king over us; he 
will reign in glory, might and power, and 
will rule us with justice, righteousness, 
knowledge and wisdom. Behold the 
man! It is Shimeon whom we will call 
THE SON OF THE star! ( Bar-Cochba) . 
Our wise men have predicted to us that 
he is the Messiah of Jacob’s God; he 
is the one who will liberate us from our 
tyrannical masters, and he is the star 
that has come forth from Jacob.” 

Then the emboldened Shimeon (Bar- 
Cochba) again opened his mouth and 
said: “Wait! the day of salvation and 
the year of redemption have not yet 
come; let us first send fleet messengers 
to those of our brethren who dwell in 
Zipori and Alexandria, and to the child- 
ren of Zion who have been banished in 
India and Africa, as also to those Jews 
who dwell in Gallia and Germania; let us 
inform them that an attempt will soon 
be made to achieve freedom and inde- 
pendence for Israel. On the same day 
that we will revolt against the Romans, 
let our brethren of Zipori and Alexan- 
dria arise and massacre all the Romans 
dwelling in those cities. Let all the 
able-bodied Jews of Ethiopia, India, 
Gallia and Germania, prepare quickly to 


TnE Fall of Betitau. 


Cy 

assist us in* our warf\\re. And in the 
meanwhile let us unite all the sects and 
factions of the children of Judah; let us 
conclude a covenant of brotherhood, an 
everlasting covenant, that our hearts 
shall never again become divided, and 
that our unity shall never again be de- 
stroyed. Nebuchadnezar would never 
haye attained victory over us, in the 
days of the first temple, if the hearts of 
our ancestors had not been divided, and 
if Judah had not forsaken Ephraim- 
Titus would never have polluted the 
Holy of Holies, in the days of the sec- 
ond temple, if there had not been quar- 
rels in our midst, if the sword of one man 
had not been raised against his neighbor, 
and if our strong men would not have 
destroyed each other.” 

According to all these words did Shi- 
mcon (Bar Cochba) speak with due en- 
thusiasm, and all the people answered 
with one voice: “Whatever thou wilt 
command us we will do, and all thou 
wilt tell us we will obey, for thou art 
our Messiah and chosen one.” 

But he answered them saying: “I can- 
not fulfill your desires unless you will 
swear to me by the true God that you 
will be faithful to me, that you will 
execute my orders and obey my com- 
mands.” 

“We will swear!” exclaimed they all, 
unanimously. 

Then he opened the doors of the Holy 
Ark, and taking the Scroll of the Law 
in his hands, he said in a loud voice: 
“You swear to me now by God the Lord 
of Hosts and by the Book of His Law, 
that you will fight for our God and our 
holy land against the Bomans until your 
last drop of blood be shed, and that every 
man wlio will desire to make peace with 
the Romans shall die, be he whosoever 
he may, so that all the nation shall sec 
and hear it, and never attempt to imitate 
liis cowardly conduct.” So spoke Shimeon 


with great enthusiam, and the whole 
congregation as one man swore to serve 
him with all their hearts and souls, and 
to fight against the Romans till their 
last breath. Then Shimeon again said: 
“Cursed be the man before Cfod who will 
not fulfill this oath, may his body rot in 
the earth beneath, and his soul be anni- 
hilated in the heavens above.” 

The entire assembly responded, 
“Amen! Amen!!” 


Chapter II. 

A Father’s Wisdom and a Haiioii- 
ter’s Hope. 

After these events the assembly left 
the house of prayer and went to their 
homes with heads bowed down and 
clothes torn like men who mourn and 
who are humbled before their conquerors ; 
this they did that the Romans might not 
conjecture their hidden thoughts. But 
Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai was indeed sor- 
rowful and bowed down with grief, and 
his heart wms deeply wounded and sore. 
He came to his home, sat down on the 
floor and read again the Book of Lamen- 
tations. When he had finished reading 
the first chapter, his feelings broke out 
ill bitter tears and he exclaimed: “ Aly 
sighs are also many, and my heart is 
faint.’* Alas ! the wickedness of the 
Romans has not yet come before God, 
their sins have not 3mt been repaid, the 
transgressions of Judah arc yet remem- 
bered before God, and the resentment of 
the Almighty is still poured out like fire 
upon the remnant of Israel!” He con- 
tinued to weej) and to moan until he fell 
down upon the ground, uttering a loud 
cry of anguish, and became silent. His 
only daughter, Keturah, let fall the 
Book of Lamentations which she was 
reading and quickly ran to her father 
who lay upon the ground as a dead man, 
saying: 

* The last sentence of that chapter, 


The Fall of Bethar. 


7 


“Wliat ails thee, dear father; why has 
thy face suddenly become pale; why do 
thy bones tremble? My soul will leave 
me because of seeing thy head become 
water and thy eyes like fountains of 
tears by day and by night. Hem ember, 
dear father, that I am thy only daugh- 
ter, and that in these perilous times I 
have no other protector but thee. Re- 
member, I pray thee, that without thee 
1 am like a ship in the midst of a stormy 
sea; like a forsaken lamb among devour- 
ing wolves ; for it is only in thy shadow 
that I can live, under the protection of 
a man like thee who is honored in the 
eyes of the emperor and the aristocracy; 
it is only by thy brilliancy that I see 
light. But what will become of me if 
thou wilt lessen thy days by grief, and 
shorten thy remaining years by mourn- 
ing; I will remain a desolate orphan. 
Alas! the very thought pierces my heart 
like a poisoned arrow, and were it not 
for my anxiety for thy precious life and 
health, that fearful thought could never 
pass my lips. How long wilt thou con- 
tinue to mourn; for the sake of Zion put 
an end to thy grief, and for the sake of 
Jerusalem dry thy tears.” 

“H I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, may 
the Lord forgpt me forever!” rejoined 
the old man with a trembling voice. ‘Tf 
I do not remember thee, 0 Zion, then 
may the Eternal God never remember 
me! I know full well that I will not die 
in my house as every may dies, nor will 
I expire upon my own bed, as is usual for 
peaceful men in the world. But thou, my 
daughter, thou wilt not be forsaken, for 
the Father of orphans is also thy hither, 
lie will preserve thee from all evil; lie 
will guard thee as one guardeth his eye, 
if thou only keepest His commands and 
doest that which is good and proper in 
His eyes.” 

Then did Keturah begin to weep, and 
she said: “Dear father, why doest thou 
not also rejoice together with cdW the 


congregation of Israel ; wfiy is it that 
thou alone hast lost all confidence and 
hope? See, I pray thee, father, the eyes 
of all Israel are expecting the day of re- 
demption; as the fawn panteth after the 
brooks of water, so pant their souls after 
liberty and freedom. Courage and 
bravery have entered the hearts of the 
remnant of Judah, and they have deter- 
mined to drive the Romans from the 
holy land, because they blaspheme our 
Lord God as well as his divine law, and 
because they spill like wat er bloodthe 
of our pious men. The Spirit of God 
has descended upon our old men and 
youths, upon our boys and girls, and 
they have all determined to risk their 
lives on the battle field, in order to 
cleanse the holy land from idolators and 
to rebuild our glorious sanctuary in its 
former splendor.” 

“Also upon thee, my daughterl” an- 
swered the old man, shaking his head — 
“Also upon thee rests the spirit which 
in these days has infested the entire 
house of Jacob! Alas! it is not the spirit 
of God, but a spirit of falsehood, mis- 
chief and evil. God has fulfilled his 
words, and has%rought upon us all the 
evils predicted by his prophets ; 
but Israel will not yet humble his still' 
neck; he yet refuses to bear quietly the 
punishment of God’s hand; he has not 
yet learned to forget his pride, and to 
give the cheek to them that smite him. 
The rebellious son has become angered 
against his Father, because he punishes 
him with the rod in order to improve his 
wa^'S and to instruct him for his future 
welfiire. Therefore God punisheth the 
daughter of Zion in His anger; therefore 
He poureth out Ilis wrath upon the 
remnant of Judah, Woe unto me! why 
am I the only one whose eyes are open 
to see the end at the beginning. Why is 
it that only my eyes see the evil which 
is as yet hidden in the bosom of the 
future?” 


8 


Tjie Fall of Betiiak. 


When he had spoken these words he 
wept bitterly and became silent. But 
Keturah did not understand him and so 
she replied: ‘‘Why should we not follow 
in the footsteps of our righteous and 
pious ancestors, who fought the Lord’s 
battles until death overtook them; 
who preferred being buried under the 
ruins of their Sanctuary than yielding it 
to the enemy! Is not that a precious 
death which is endured for the sake of 
religious belief! We depend on the Lord 
our God, rely on His holy name; He 
will send us His support for the sake of 
the Sanctuary, and will aid us for Zion’s 
sake, and if not, then we will all die.” 

‘‘We will all die,” exclaimed the old 
man, rising from his place; “we will all 
die; why, we arc dead; our end has come, 
alas, alas, to us!” The old man continued 
to wail, but finally his mind became 
calm, and he said: “It is true, my 
daughter, that a death endured for truth 
and justice is glorious, but we only use 
these words as’ a pretence; we pretend 
to be pious, but are not; we imagine our- 
sxdves to be pure, but are not yet 
cleansed from our sins; therefore God’s 
anger is against us, Hijf face is turned 
from the house of Jacob, and He will 
not be with our armies. Our swords He 
will turn against ourselves, and He will 
doom us to be slaughtered. Then why 
should we lead our children to the death, 
and why yield our own lives? At present 
we inhabit the land of our birth yet^ itod 
if we would (luietly bend our necks 
in obedience to the Boman rulers, they 
would gradually lessen our burden and 
deal with us mercifully. The emperor 
Adrian would be good and kind to us, if 
he only knew that we were faithful to 
him. But woe unto us if Cmsar should 
discover this new conspiracy! Jewish 
blood would then flow as water, our in- 
fants would be murdered, uur wives 
would be outraged and our elders would 
be massacred. Those who would escape 


the sword would be exiled into distant 
countries, and their eyes would never 
again look upon the Holy Land!” 

Keturah answered him by saying: 
“My father, you are one of those who 
beheld our nation at the time they were 
smitten by the Lord’s anger; you wit- 
nessed the overthrow of our people by 
Titus; you remember the day when the 
gates of Zion fell down, and when the 
Temple was burned. Those heart rend- 
ing images are present before your mind 
by day and by night, and this is the rea- 
son why you refuse to believe that vic- 
tory and independence may again retumi 
to Israel.” 

“No! I cannot believe that anything 
good will result from conspiracy and re- 
bellion. It is not by the sword, javelin, 
or valient deeds, that Judah will be re- 
deemed. Our ancestors made crooked 
their paths and died for their sins, and 
we try even to multiply our transgres- 
sions. I, even I was in Jerusalem when 
Vespasian and Titus fought against it; 
my eyes beheld the wickedness that then 
filled the Lord’s city, the hard-hearted- 
ness of the zealots, and the iniquity of 
their soldiers who were traitors to their 
God and king. The Lord God of Hosts 
had ai)pointed those days for tears and 
mourning, for days of repentance, when 
every man should forsake his evil paths 
and unjust animosities; but instead of 
that there was joy and laughter, rams 
and lambs were devoured, and wine was 
excessively drunk. They followed the 
desires of their hearts, hating each other 
without reason,* creating parties and 

“Why was the lirst teiiiplo destroyed r* Be- 
cause of the crimes of a<hiltery, murder nnd 
idolatry, which were.pj’evaleiit amoiia' the peo- 
ple. But the second temple, during- the exist- 
ence of which the people were not «iven to such 
sins, why was it destroyed? B(‘eause they hat(‘d 
each other without reason. '^Fliis mayteach th(*(; 
that the hatred one man nourishes against the 
other without reason, is as j^reat a crime as all 
the three (a-imes toj^’etlu'r which have* ])revailcd 
durinj^' the latter days of the tirst temi)le.” (.Io- 
nia, fol. 11, h). 

The whole statement of K. Eliezer Jlamodai 
here is based on talmuilical authority, ISec Me- 


The Fall of Betiiau. 


factions to assail cacti other and thus 
causing quarrels between neighbors and 
strife betweendirethren who were all cre- 
ated by one God, who had the same 
Father and the same religion. The 
zealots and their followers were filled 
with pride and impudence; they used to 
say: ‘The city and temple are strongly 
fortified, the . granaries are filled with 
grain, and the houses with delicacies; 
what shall we fear and for whom shall 
we tremble? Let the enemy surround 
and encircle Zion, let them come and 
watch like hungry wolves, whilst we de- 
light in pleasurefs, consume wine plenti- 
fully and live in abundance, for our city 
is strong and contains everything good.’ 
The wise men, those who could peep 
into the future, remonstrated with them 
and told them: ‘We implore you breth- 
ren and friends not to conspire against 
Cmsar, not to seek quarrels, for peace is 
the origin of life, whilst war is the cause 
of death. Come, let us make peace with 
the Homans; let us conclude a friendly 
treaty with them; for bitter and terrible 
will be the day when the soldiers, with 
hatred and vengeance burning in their 
hearts, will fall upon us like hungry lions 
seeking their prey and thirsting for 
blood. The babe and suckling will not 
even be spared tlien, every one will fall 
by the sword or dagger, and those who 
escape will become slaves to the blas- 
phemers of God and the enemies of Is- 
rael. But if you are fully determined 
to proceed against your enemies with 
the sword, in which case you may rest 
assured that they will leave nothing un- 
tried in order to exterminate you, then 
you must first attain victory over the 
enemy that is in your midst. Quench 
the burning hatred and jealousy existing 
between your different parties; make a 
true peace between every man and his 

drash to La inentatioiis and Kohclnth; liab. Sab- 
bath, fol. 119 b. ; Gittin, fols. 55 and 5(5; Dnrech 
Erez Zuta, ch. 9.; Meyillah, fol. 6, a. and parallel 
places throughout both Talmuds. 


[) 

neighbor, so that a perfect unity in our 
midst may be established; for a false 
brother is like unto a scorpion whose 
bite cannot be healed, and a quarrel 
among brethren is like a lion among 
tame beasts, like a tiger in a herd of 
sheep — it consumes, devours and exter- 
minates, and there is none to save. You 
also should know that the Gentiles never 
persecuted our nation from their own 
desires, since the day we became a nation 
even until now; the evil proceeded from 
ourselves every time, and our tormentors 
and destroyers originated from our own 
midst. Examine historical records and 
you will find our words to be true.’ So 
spoke the sages and scribes who foresaw 
the great evil that would result from a 
rebellion against the Homan government. 
But the zealots jeered at them, mocked 
at their words, and would reply to them 
by saying: ‘You are cowards; you fear 
the sword and tremble at the sight of a 
javelin, therefore you desire to make 
peace with our enemies and the destroy- 
ers of our land, this is the reason why 
you care not if our adversaries enter the 
portals of Jerusalem and plunder its 
treasures. We will, however, cause star- 
vation to pervade your houses, and hun- 
ger to enter your bodies, and thus we 
will compel you to fight against the Ho- 
mans.’ With malicious wickedness those 
zealots arose and set fire to all the gran- 
aries, which caused terrible famine to 
spread through the city. With the end 
of the affair you are undoubtedly famil- 
iar, my daughter. ” 

“The present time cannot be compared 
with those evil days!” answered Ketu- 
rah, “for all thejnation has now conclud- 
ed a covenant of brotherhood, and there 
exists true peace among all Israel.” 

“True peace in Israel?” answered the 
old man. “When did such a thing ever 
occur in Israel! When was the time 
when mutual hatred was not engrafted 
upon the heart of this doomed nation. 


10 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


and when will this destructive fire be 
quenched? Alas! this fire will continue 
to consume Jacob, until — ” 

“That fire has been quenched even 
now,” interrupted Keturah, “peace has 
now arisen and will dwell with us for- 
ever. Shimeon, thy sister’s son, has 
sown the blessed seed into the hearts of 
all the descendants of Abraham; they 
have appointed him to be their ruler and 
captain; they all admire his brave spirit; 
they are wonder-struck at his mighty 
power and strength; at his wise counsels 
and the divine understanding with which 
God has gifted him. They have unani- 
mously given him the title ‘ the son of 
THE STAR.' as is Well known to thee.” 

“I call him an impostor!” exclaimed 
the old man angrily. “Alas! that such a 
cause of wickedness should have come 
forth from my father’s house; that a 
rebel against his God and king should 
have originated from our family; a man 
who willingly tries to destroy the rem- 
nant of God’s holy flock; whose blood, as 
well as the blood of their children, will 
continually cry from their graves for 
vengeance against him — 

The venerable old man stopped short 
in his words, and his tongue refused to 
utter any more, because of his grief and 
sorrow. He continued to read the Book 
of Lamentations with bitter tears. 

Keturah went out of the chamber with 
a wounded heart and weeping eyes; a 
thousand different thoughts struggled in 
her breast; for Shimeon, the Star of Ja- 
cob, who had been chosen as Messiah, 
Captain and King over Israel, loved her 
with a love as strong as death, and she 
also loved him with all her heart. They 
had been anxiously waiting for the 
day when their love should unite them 
forever, according to the laws of Moses 
and Israel, and whenever she remem- 
bered the glory and honor in store for 
her lover, her heart would beat high 
with pleasure and pride. When she now 


heard the words of her wise and holy 
hither foretelling that Bar Cochba would 
be a destroyer, and that through him the 
remnant of Judah would be exterminat- 
ed, her heart was wounded and bleeding. 
But finally her love became stronger 
than the weight of her father’s prophecy, 
and her heart’s belief in the wonderful 
gifts of her lover outweighed the sad 
feelings which her father's predictions 
had raised in her mind. Her expecta- 
tions were strengthened by the hopes of 
the entire house of Israel. 

In those days there were great earth- 
quakes in the land;* the fishes of the 
sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the 
field, and all the creeping things of the 
earth trembled. Eternal mountains fell 
from their places, great valleys disap- 
peared, immense towers came down like 
broken reeds, and large cities fell to 
pieces as though they were clay. Won- 
derful phenomena were seen in heaven 
and on earth; rivers were turned into 
blood, darkness covered the land, the 
sun became dark and the moon turned 
into blood. A wonderful spirit descend- 
ed upon all Israel, their sons and daugh- 
ters prophesied, the aged dreamt dreams 
and the young saw visions; even the 
man-servants and maid-servants became 
imbued with a spirit of bravery and cour- 
age, of knowledge and wisdom. The eyes 
of all were directed to the one chosen by 
Jacob’s God, who would attain victory 
over his enemies, and would sit upon 
the throne of Havid to be obeyed by his 
brethren and served by all the descend- 
ants of Israel. Tliey all believed tliat 
Shimeon Bar Cochba was the man cho- 
sen by God to be the Messiah-King; that 
the spirit of the Lord was in him, and 
that his loins were girded with right- 
eousness. They all expected him to 
l)unish the world with the words of his 
mouth, and to slay the wicked witli the 
breatli of his lips.t They were confident 

* Eusebius Chronicon, also Lyiicellus. 

t According to Isuiub xi, i. 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


11 


that he would re-establish the cities of 
Judah, that he would rebuild the walls 
of Jerusalem, that he would reinstate 
the temple of Grod, and that he would re- 
store the glory of Jacob even as it was 
in former days. 


III. 

SAMARITAN TREACHERY. 

As Jerusalem was deprived of glory 
and prosperity day by day, even so did 
the city of Cjxjsarea increase in wealth, 
fortune and reputation. That city was 
a port, and was founded by Strato the 
Syrian general, but was enlarged and re- 
built by Herod, who gave it the name 
■‘Coosarea,” in honor of his friend Augus- 
tus Ca0sar. By the Jews it was always 
called Roma. By its great wealth, lux- 
ury and affluence, its fame spread 
throughout the world, and its name was 
known by all nations. Plenty of beauti- 
ful houses were there, magnificent and 
luxurious palaces shed their lustre on 
its avenues, bath houses and play houses 
lined its streets, and it was considered 
the most handsome and luxurious city 
in Asia. The representative of Ca)sar 
dwelt there in the midst of laudation 
and flattery, the cream of the army 
were its guardians, and the courts of law 
were held there. 

Tinius Rufus, the governor of Judah, 
dwelt in that famous city, in an immense 
and splendid palace. Fountains of wine 
stood near the table before him, and he 
drank immoderately to dispel the fears 
which had of late possessed him. Papus! 
a Samaritan, stands at his right side with 
anxiety in his countenance, and exclaims 
with a trembling voice: “Ah, governor^ 
the Jews have resolved to rebel 
against the Roman government; this con- 
spiracy against Caesar has been firmly de- 
termined upon by that unyielding race, 
and the war will break out suddenly with 
a fire that will consume mountains. 


They have sent secret messengers to 
every city, that their brethren may be 
prepared at a certain appointed day to 
rise against the Romans and to extermi- 
nate them from the world. The J ews 
know that you are unable to withstand 
their great and numerous hordes with the 
few soldiers that you have here, and 
they have therefore determined to carry 
out their plans before Caesar can send an 
army to assist you. Shimeon, the son of 
Eliezer Hamodai’s sister, has been chosen 
as their ruler, their annointed king, and 
the general of their armies, because they 
believe that it is prophecied of him in 
the law of Moses that a star would 
arise from Jacob who would smite the 
Romans and utterly destroy this city of 
Roma.* This has also been predicted in 
former years by a great prophet of a Gen- 
tile nation, who was widely known as 
the greatest Gentile prophet that ever 
lived." 

Tinius Rufus trembled as he listened 
to the concluding remarks of Papus, for 
he was a strong believer in all old pre- 
dictions foretold by ancient prophets. 
He took courage, nevertheless, and tried 
to strengthen his heart by drinking more 
wine, but even the wine fumes refused 
to stimulate his fallen spirits, so he 
arose from his chair and walked up and 
down the chamber, plunged in his gloomy 
reveries. Suddenly he stopped near Pa- 
pus, and looking at him with searching 
eyes said: “Prove that your words are 
true." 

Papus answered in a mournful and 
complaining tone: “Alas, governor, have 
I ever attempted to tell you an untruth 
that you refuse to believe me now? Tes- 
tify whether I have not served you 
honestly and faithfully from the day I 
first appeared before you even until 
now!" 

“Your words are true," Rufus an- 
swered him; “truly and faithfully have 


* Csesarea. Sec Note 3 to 1st chap. 


12 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


you serrcd me until now, for which I 
have fully paid you from Cmsar’s trea- 
sury; but in regard to this new conspir- 
acy, I cannot believe you until you bring 
me clear testimony. For should I hast- 
ily proceed to punish the Jews before it 
has been demonstrated that the con- 
spiracy exists, then the Boman nobles 
would fully justify them for rising to 
defend themselves with fire and sword. 
Cmsar would be angr^^ with me for hav- 
ing made the Jews rebel by my hasty 
actions; he would remove me from my 
office and might even deprive me of my 
head.” 

“I, also,” replied Papus, “I also know 
the evil in store for you if it should be- 
come known to Cmsar that the Jews 
were compelled to resort to the sword 
because of your tyranny. Florus shed 
the blood of his enemies, the Jews, with- 
out fearing that he would displease and 
anger Cmsar, because his wife was hand- 
some and her beauty illuminated Cmsar’s 
palace; but your wife lluphina is not so 
fortunate, and it is therefore right 
that you should be more careful. As 
far as I can see, the best thing for you 
to do is to act secretly in such a manner 
that the Jews may be forced to bring 
their conspiracy to light and to rebel 
openly, for Cmsar will then not inquire 
after the origin of the rebellion, and will 
pay no attention to any charges the 
Jews may allege against you.” 

Ilufus remained standing near Papus 
and was for a few moments plunged in 
profound meditation, at last he said: “I 
fear very much that Caesar will listen 
to the charges of tyranny and persecu- 
tion which the Jews will raise against 
me. I know that I have many rivals and 
enemies at the Homan court who will 
add fuel to Caesar’s anger, and who will 
so work against me that he will believe 
me to be the cause of the rebellion.” 

“Why are you so down-hearted, gov- 
ernor?” said l^apus; “have you not the 


power to act shrewdly and anger the 
Jews with something which is considered 
trifling in the eyes of Cmsar and his 
court, but which is looked upon as a 
great matter by the Jews,* so that they 
will openly rebel against the Homan 
government. You will then justify your- 
self before Cmsar by saying, that the 
only way to govern such an unruly and 
rebellious people is to stand over them 
with an iron rod, for notliing less can 
keep them at peace.” 

“My mind is confused to-day and I 
can think of no suitable plan,” answered 
Hufus; “but I see it on your hice that 
you have in your mind some crafty de- 
sign that will remove my trouble and 
uneasiness.” 

“My mind is open to you,” answered 
Papus; “but I pray you to listen to 
me.” 

“And what is the plan,” asked Hufus 
anxiously — “what is it?” Papus waited 
a few moments in silence in order to en- 
joy Hufus’ anxiety. “What is the plan? 
Speak!” shouted Hufus, with burning 
eyes. 

“Do not get excited, governor!” an- 
swered Papus, quietly and calmly, for he 
saw that Hufus was in his power. “ I 
think that you can behead the hydra- 
headed monster in such a manner that 
he will never regain life.” 

“Explain your words!” shouted Hufus. 
“Why do you trouble me with riddles?” 

“I will suppose,” answered Pa])us, 
speaking very slowly— “I will suppose 
that you can catch Shimeon in a trap, 
and compel him to forfeit his head to 
Cmsar.” 

“But how can I capture this mighty 
whale into my net?” asked Hufus, whose 
eyes burned like flames. 

“By cunning, for power without craft 
cannot long maintain itself.” 

*A Bimilar Bclieme of upbraiding the Jews by 
acts which were considered of little sigiiincance 
at Rome, is reported in Gittin, fol. 50, a, in the 
well-known story about the informer Bar Kamza. 


The Fall of Bethar. 


13 


“But what is the plan? How am I to 
convert this eagle into a tame dove? 
Tell me, I pray you, what is the plan?” 

“ It is love!” answered Papus. “Love 
with its flames makes the wise man a 
fool; it changes the hereof many battles 
into a weakling. It was love that de- 
prived Solomon, the wisest of men, of 
his wisdom, and Samson, the strongest 
of men, of his strength, and it will de- 
prive Shimeon Bar Cochba of both.” 

“Who is it that Shimeon loves?” 
asked Bufus anxiously. “Who is she?” 

“It is Keturah!” replied Papus, “even 
Katurah, the prettiest of Israel’s daugh- 
ters; the daughter of Eliezer Hamodai, 
who is Shimeon’s uncle. Did you ever 
see a handsomer and prettier woman 
among all the daughters of the land? I 
yet remember how you admired her 
beauty when you saw her in Bethar a 
few months ago. This girl is beloved by 
Shimeon and engaged to him, for her 
father had promised to make her his 
wife if he would reinstate peace in the 
land, and remove all internal quarrels 
and rebellious feelings from among the 
children of Israel. But he swore that 
he would not take her to wife until he 
had exterminated all the Homans from 
this land, and had restored his nation to 
their former independence and glory. 
Now you must act craftily and bring 
Keturah into your palace; then ” 

Papus did not finish his sentence, but 
remained silent for a few moments, look- 
ing at Bufus with contempt, whilst his 
eye betrayed his struggle between love 
and jealousy. 

“Papus!” said Bufus hastily, “ Papus, 
if you can propose a plan to bring Ketu- 
rah here, I will make you lord over half 
the province, and will also give you 
plenty of silver and gold.” 

“You are a good shot,” said Papus, 
“and if you cage the big bird the little 
one will follow.” 


“Torment me not with riddles, be kind 
enough to speak plain.” 

“Summon Eliezer before you,” an- 
swered Papus, “and charge him with 
being the cause of the new conspiracy. 
He will keep nothing from you, for he 
desires peace and mixes not with the 
conspirators ; besides, he has been wishing 
to see you for a long time, so that he 
might get an opportunity to entreat you 
for mercy and kindness to the Jews. I 
am positive that when the old man comes 
his daughter will follow him, lest an ac- 
cident should befall him on the road be- 
cause of his old age. The daughters of 
Israel are brave women, from their youth 
they are raised amid bravery and battles, 
and they fear nothing; therefore it is 
that Keturah will not fear to enter the 
palace of a great ruler, hero and general 
like yourself. When the father and 
daughter enter your palace, send the 
father away and retain the daughter as 
security for the country’s peace. And 
when Bar Cochba hears that his beloved 
one is imprisoned in your palace, he will 
fly here quick as an eagle to set her free; 
you will tlien capture him in your net 
and do with him what you deem right 
and proper.” 

At these words Bufus’ face regained 
its color, and giving to Papus a handfull 
of gold, he said: “By the life of Jupiter, 
this plan, even if it does not entirely 
succeed, is fully worth this gold. Go 
now in peace, work faithfully, and re- 
member that a man in my position can 
make you rich, honored and respected.” 

IV. 

THE SENTIMENTS AND ACTIONS 
OF PAPUS. 

Papus went out from the audience 
chamber into the surrounding garden 
and from thence to the palace gate, 
where stood Lords-in-waiting, guard 
of the palace, and servants, who upon 
seeing him saluted him with respect and 


14 


The Fall of Betiiar, 


honor. But it could be seen from their 
faces that in their hearts they hated and 
despised him. l\apus saluted them also 
in a friendly and respectful manner, and 
took his box of perfumery, which he al- 
ways carried — for he walked about in 
the disguise of a vender of perfumes — 
put it upon his shoulder and went off. 
Outside the palace gate there always 
stood warlike men with swords and jave- 
lins; these were the soldiers ready to 
obey the commands of Ilufus, their mas- 
ter, also warriors from Germania, with 
long hair and flowing beards, who con- 
stantly promenaded around the palace, 
guarding it strictly. 

When Papus reached outside of the 
city gates, he stopped on the highway and 
began to laugh with pride and arrogance. 
Thus he soliloquised: “Ah, you fools who 
are wise in your own eyes, and ye simple 
ones who imagine that you have under- 
standing! If you only knew that the 
flite of all this country is in my hand; if 
your heart could only whisper to you 
that I will bring upon you a sudden and 
complete destruction; that I will bring 
death and extermination to all of you. 
And you, Keturah, you shall know that 
my hand is strong and my vengeance 
mighty. How sweet is revenge; it is 
sweeter than all the delusions and plea- 
sures of love! I)o you imagine that I 
will not take revenge for the shameful 
manner in which you have insulted and 
abused me? 0, you fool! in a very short 
time you will repent of your arrogance 
and pride. It is true that nature had al- 
ready doomed me, even before my 
birth, for it has bestowed upon me green 
eyes and red hair, crooked legs and long 
arms, a black countenance and a pug 
nose, thick and ugly lips and sharply 
pointed cheek bones. But with all this, 
wealth is Qiore precious than beauty, 
and wisdom is more valuable than all the 
comeliness of the body, for I am a wealthy 
man, whose house is filled with silver 


and gold, and whose mind is replete with 
knowledge and wisdom. Truly and fer- 
vently have I loved you, Keturah! and I 
desired you with all my heart and soul. 
Even my neighbor, your father, did I 
truly love and honestly respect. And, 
in return, you insulted and wounded me; 
for my love you gave me hatred, and be- 
cause I wanted to place you among the 
aristocracy of the land, you wished to 
deprive me of my glory and to darken 
my life. Also your father pushed me 
away from him with both hands, and 
abused me to my face. With reverential 
respect did I approach Eliezer, and with 
all my might I begged him to give me 
his daughter to wife, in return for which 
I was willing to bestow upon him num^- 
ous gifts, and upon her all manner of 
wealth and luxury. But he would an- 
swer me by saying: “Papus, you well 
know that I honor and respect you, but 
I cannot give you my daughter, for you 
are a Samaritan.” I then swore to him 
that I would forsake the doctrines of the 
Samaritans and would embrace those of 
the Scribes and Pharisees, but he would 
answer me: “You have been born in the 
religion of the Samaritans, and even as 
strongly as I oppose it, even so has your 
soul been united with it from your 
youth, for the lessons we learn in our 
youth are written with a pen of iron and 
are inscribed upon the human heart eter- 
nally. If you even forsake your belief 
to appearance, its love will never leave 
your heart; you may deny it with your 
mouth and lips, but you will always rev- 
erence it in your heart; and in a short 
time, as soon as your passion for my 
daughter will be calmed, you will return 
to the religion of your childhood, you 
will re-adopt its errors and follow its ab- 
surdities. Many years ago the Jews at- 
tempted to implant the true law of God 
in the hearts of your ancestors, but all 
their labor was in vain. Because they 
feared the lions which God sent upon 


The Fall of Betiiah. 


15 


thern;'^ they accepted the laws of JMoses 
and Israel, but as soon as their torment- 
ors disappeared, they returned to the 
worship of their idols. Whenever God 
blesses His nation Israel with peace and 
gives them power and glory, then you 
come to us, cleave to the house of Jacob, 
and say, “We are Hebrews!” But when- 
ever you see that our power is on the 
decline, and that misfortune befalls Is- 
rael, then you give us the cold shoulder 
and say, ‘ We belong to the Gentiles, 
and we have no portion nor heritage in 
Israel’s God.’ You even join our ene- 
mies, and help the stranger to extermi- 
nate Judah. You, also, Papus, swear at 
this moment that you will adopt the 
pure Mosaic belief, but after the first 
heat of your passion for my daughter 
will cool, you will return to the religion 
of your fathers. No, my friend; lead a 
moral life, love all men, and retain your 
creed; as to my daughter, she will marry 
a Jew; a man who holds my religion 
and creed.” 

In this manner did the old man speak 
to me every time, but I continued to im- 
plore him unceasingly day by day until 
he could no longer bear it; at last he told 
me: “Listen to me, Papus! although I 
have the power to give my daughter to 
the man whom I may choose, I will nev- 
ertheless waive that right for your sake, 
and if she desires to marry you, I shall 
not prevent her.” But Keturah an- 
swered him by saying: “Ah, my father, 
how could I ever unite myself with an 
ugly and deformed Samaritan!” At that 
time I swore that I would revenge my- 
self upon her in a terrible manner — in a 
manner that will astound whosoever 
hears of it; nor will I take any rest or 
repose until I will fulfill and bring about 
the desire of my heart. And you, also- 
you who are a king in your dreams, in 
midnight visions! you, Shimeon Bar 
Cochba* you who kindled the fire of love 

* See II Kings xvii. 


in Keturah’s heart with your beautiful 
eyes, and caused her to reject and abuse 
me, you will not remain untouched by 
my great vengeance, for jealousy is bit- 
ter like the grave. And you, Ptufus; 
you who are as proud as an eagle and as 
cowardly as a rabbit; you, who arc so 
fond of luxuries and sensual pleasures; 
you will also feel my power and my ven- 
geance. You also will I send to the re- 
gions below. I despise the silver and 
gold that you promised to give me, for 
they cannot atone for the abuse and in- 
dignity that you always heaped upon me, 
nor for the great injuries that you have 
caused to my nation. Do you imagine 
that I carry this box of perfumery on 
my shoulders like a vender, in order to 
obtain food for my hungry stomach? Do 
you know that in my house there is great 
wealth and precious stones, and that my 
box of perfumery is a mere instrument 
which opens the doors of the aristocrats 
to me; which enables me to enter the 
houses of the wealthy; which gains me 
admission into the chambers of lords; 
which levels a path for me to the hearts 
of counsellors and senators, and which 
enables me to associate with the govern- 
ors and rulers of the nation? Your im- 
pudent and flattering lords are jealous of 
me, because I obtain favors from the 
highest aristocrats of the empire, for 
they imagine that through their grace 
and favor I obtain riches and wealth. 
Their minds are too ignorant to compre- 
hend that I only use all these things as 
instruments of destruction, and that 
through their means I will destroy the 
Romans whom I hate by the Jews whom 
I despise, and the Jews by the Romans- 
Who knows but what the Samaritans may 
yet again be the masters of this land, 
and I become their king, for there is 
none whom they honor as much as my- 
self.” 

Suddenly the Samaritan ceased to 
speak, for he heard footsteps behind 


16 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


him, and at that time tlicrc wereBoman 
p[)ies, disguised like Jews, walking 
among the people, and listening atten- 
tively to every man’s words. Through 
their means many of the children of Is- 
rael were chained in irons and impris- 
oned in dark underground dungeons 
without having committed any crime, 
and without being conscious of any of- 
fence or transgression. 

Besides the spies that Bufus liad sent 
through the land, the Jews were divided 
into different parties, who secretly hated 
and covertly watched each other; and 
though all these parties had united for 
the ])urpose of freeing themselves from 
Boman bondage, their objects in view 
were extremely diverse. The Pharisees, 
who strictly obeyed the teachings of the 
law, and observed every custom, tradi- 
tion and usage, wanted to be free in or- 
der to rebuild the temple, and to offer 
sacrifices as in days of old. The Zadu- 
cees who were utterly indifferent to re- 
ligion and piety, were anxious for liber- 
ty in order that they might spend their 
days in pleasures, and their years in 
sensual delights, according to the teach- 
ings of the Greek philosopher. Epicures, 
— whose followers are often called Epi- 
cureans. The Essenes, whose lives were 
consecrated to God, and who were holy 
men like the ancient Sons of the Pro- 
phets, desired to attain their freedom in 
order that they might lead quiet lives 
and be removed from worldly troubles, 
so that they might enjoy the glory of 
God, search into his great wisdom as 
exhibited in his creations, and ascend 
on the pinions of thought even as far as 
the heavens, surmount the stars, and 
feed on eternal bliss by comprehending 
the mysteries of the heavenly angels and 
the holy Seraphim. 

The Samaritans, or the Kuthim, were 
desirous of gaining their independence 
in order that they might rebuild their 
sanctuary on Mount Gerisim, even as it 


was in former years.* All these' fac- 
tions, though they strove for the same 
thing — liberty — were not united in their 
aims; they had no love for each other, 
nor did they trust one another. None 
of the otlier fiictions trusted the'Sama- 
ritans, for they were from time imme- 
morial known to be turncoats, selfish 
and wavering in all their doings, like a 
reed shaking in water. 

The Samaritan paused in his words, 
and his eyes turned hither and thither, 
when he saw a tall and powerful man 
coming towards him. That man walked 
very hurriedly. The Samaritan looked 
at him closely, and saw that he wore a 
gaberdine, like one of the Pharisees; on 
his head he had large frontlets, and in 
his hand he carried a prayer-book; his 
lips moved as though he was praying, 
but his voice could not be heard. Papus 
saluted him with the words: “Peace be 
upon you.” The other one gave him no 
answer until he had finished his prayers, 
when he said: “Pardon me for not hav- 
ing answered your salutation, but I was 
praying to God, and our holy sages have 
decreed that no one should speak dur- 
ing his prayers, even if a serpent was to 
bite him.”* 

Paupus looked at him sliarjJy, and 
said: “It is very rare to meet in this age 
a God-fearing man like you, who would 
rather lose his life than violate the law 
and interrupt his devotions; for the men 
of this generation servo the God of glory 
only with their mouths and lips, and for 
a piece of silver they would deny Him 
and Ilis law. Many pretend to be as re- 
ligious as Abraham, who gladly offered 
his only son as a sacrifice to God, whilst 
in reality they are thorough sensualists 

*Tlie Samaritans were considered as Israelites 
until it has heen discovered that they worshiped 
The image of a dove, see Chiulin, fol. G a, and 
l)arallel passages in the Talmud. The enaclment 
of tlieir disfranchisement from the Jewish law 
took place under Jiahbl Mair, according to the 
statement of the above passage, 

* Rerachoth, fol. 80 b. 


The Fall oe Bethah. 


17 


like Abimelech who fell in love with his 
neighbor’s wife.” 

The Pharisee lengthened his face, and 
replied in a broken and trembling voice: 
“Who is it that caused Judah to sin? Is 
it not the Homan? And who is it that 
corruj3ted the morals of Zion’s children? 
Is it not this barborous nation; the ene- 
my of our religion, and the destroyer of 
our country?” 

“Your words are true,” replied Papus, 
“the Romans implanted the germs of 
evil, wickedness and sin upon the hearts 
of our nation. Through the teachings 
of their belief, they mislead God’s na- 
tion in the paths of the god of wine 
(Bacchus) , to imitate the idols of mair- 
der and robbery (Mars and Mercury), 
and to walk in the footsteps of the god- 
dess of brutal sensuality (Yenus). A 
great many of Israel’s young men assem- 
ble daily in their theatres, they go to 
witness the fights of animals, and are to 
be seen in the baths whose very atmo- 
sphere is that of lewdness. They imi- 
tate the Romans in their dress, and like 
them they build immense and luxurious 
palaces for themselves.” 

“I cannot believe,” said the Pharisee; 
“I will not believe that they all go to . 
these impure places in order to enjoy 
idolatrous pleasures. A great many of 
them are actuated by the desire of see- 
ing things which are new to them, and 
they want to listen to the conversation 
of the country’s nobility, for something 
may also be learned from them.” 

“I think exactly as you do,” replied 
Papus. “A great many act so as to de- 
ceive those who come in contact with 
them, and keep their inner thoughts to 
themselves. A great many appear as 
though they were worshipers of Israel’s 
God, when they are in truth servants of 
Baal.” 

The Pharisee began to laugh heartil- 
ly, for he saw that the Samaritan had 
recognized him, notwithstanding he was 


disguised in a Pharisee’s dress. That 
man was Caius, who was appointed by 
Rufus to the post of head spy and chief 
executioner of the country. Papus had 
taught him,* at the command of Rufus, 
all the forms of the Jewish religion, ac- 
cording to the Pharasaic traditions. He 
was an apt scholar, and had learned to 
disguise himself so perfectly as not to be 
recognized even by his teacher, Papus, 
until they had conversed for a long time. 
He was now going on an errand for Ru- 
fus to Bethar, in order to bring Rabbi 
Eliezer Hamodai to Caesarea. But Ru- 
fus had commanded him to disguise him- 
self on his journey like a Pharisee, so 
that he might investigate and discover 
the thoughts of the Jews; for Rufus had 
given no credence to the reports of Pa- 
pus regarding the Jewish rebellion. Pa- 
pus well conjectured at once the object 
of his friend’s mission, and was glad that 
the destructive seed, which he had cun- 
ningly sown in Rufus’ heart, had borne 
fruit so quickly. 

V. 

PAPUS ANI) RABBI AKIBA. 

Caius and Papus, who knew each the 
thoughts of the other, walked together. 
On their way they passed by a bath- 
house, where thousands of men fiocked 
from all directions. There were to be 
found actors and slight-of-hand perform- 
ers from Greece, dancers and musicians 
from Syria, magicians and necromancers 
from India and Egypt, sorcerers and 
charmers, who exhibited their wonder- 
ful powers by encircling their loins with 
venomous serpents, by playing with 
winged scorpions, and by doing a great 
many similar things to astonish and ter- 
rify the beholders. Here could be seen 
the votaries of pleasure reclining under 
tents made from branches of the date 
tree, and covered with the leaves of the 
vine, whilst they spent their time in 
drinking fresh and cool water, narrating 


18 


Tue Fall of Bethak. 


to each other the cunning and lewd acts 
they had committed within the last few 
days, and laughing loudly. Here 
could be seen the scribes and sages of 
Israel, the expounders of the law and 
the teachers of Yeshurun, walking to- 
gether and disputing about some intri- 
cate points of religious law, conversing- 
in a subdued voice, but with the appear- 
ance of intense antagonism, and leading 
all those who saw them to believe that 
they hated each other, and that they 
w’ere abusing and insulting one another; 
whilst they really were intimate friends, 
united together in true brotherhood, and 
their bond of eternal love was only made 
so much the stronger through their dis- 
putes. Here were also to be seen male 
and female slaves cruelly exposed by 
their barborous owners to the heat of 
the burning sun, whilst now and then 
curses would escape from their lips in a 
strange and harsh tongue. But in all 
this great mass of people that were in 
and about this bath-house, there was 
none who spoke about the state of the 
country, the political news of the day, or 
of the latest events transpiring in the 
land. There seemed to rest upon the 
countenances of all these people, even 
upon those who were lively and joyful, a 
cloud of sorrow; and upon all that de- 
lightful valley there hovered a significant 
silence and profound quiet, like the sil- 
ence of a volcano before it emits its in- 
ternal fire flames, and like the calm that 
rests upon a fruitful land before it is 
overturned by a terrific and frifi:htful 
earthquake. The Boinan aristocrats 
walked hither and thither with pride and 
haughtiness, treating every one who 
passed by them with insult and con- 
tempt; but at the same time their eyes 
observed and watched the doings of every 
man, and their ears listened attentively 
to the conversation of ever^’^ one, in order 
that they might make full reports to 
Rufus, the representative of Caesar. 


Caius continued walking on his way to 
Bethar, but Papus took a stand in the 
midst of the vast assembly who were 
gathered together around the bath-house, 
and exclaimed in a loud voice, like a ven- 
der of perfumes: '‘Who would like to 
buy delicious perfumery; musk from 
Arabia, or frankincense from Syria, eth- 
er of roses, or oil of almonds, balm or 
ointment, mirah or oleander, essence of 
violets or scented cinnamon, wonderful 
herbs or enbalmed fingers, which will 
raise the dead, gold needles or precious 
stones, rings or earrings, fine towels and 
sheets imported from Egypt, curtains 
from Damascus, or anything else that is 
precious and rare? Who is the person 
that desires any of these valuable things? 
Let him come here! Come near to me, 
all of you, and you will buy for a trifle 
whatever your heart may desire!” 

From every side and corner many peo- 
ple came to buy from this famous per- 
fume vender, who was known to be in- 
fluential in the palaces of the rich and 
the aristocracy, and who was reputed to 
have the power of obtaining for a man 
all the favors he might want from al^ 
the different religious sects, races and 
nations. One man out of the vast 
throng approached him, and said: “Per- 
fume vender, have you in your immense 
stock the elixir of life, which will bestow 
eternal life upon him who drinks?” 

Papus turned to him and replied: “ I 
only wish that I had the elixir of life, 1 
would then no longer carry this box upon 
my shoulders and travel from place to 
place; for our lord and emperor Hadrian 
would bestow upon me, in return for that 
elixir, an eternal governorship.” 

“There you are!” replied the man. “ I 
will give you such an elixir, and I want 
no i)ay for doing so! This drug is not to 
be found in the pharmacies of Cilead 
nor in the depositories of Rome, but 
only in the book of the sweet psalmist of 


The Fall of Bethar. 


19 


Israel;* it is: ‘ Who is the man that cle- 
sireth life and loveth many days that he 
may see good. Keep thy tongue from 
all evil and thy lips from speaking false- 
hood.! But there is no one who cares 
for this precious elixir, and your mouth 
demonstrates that you also are indiffer- 
ent to it.’ ” 

Papus looked at the man scrutinizing- 
ly and recognized him, when he replied: 
“ Have you forgotten that the greatest 
of men and the wisest of kings decreed 
in his wisdom that there was a season 
for silence and a season for speech?! I 
also speak my words in their proper time 
and place, as becomes a vender of per- 
fumes. All the eloquent words, how- 
ever, that my mouth utters before the 
assembled throngs are not intended to 
deceive any one, but only to improve my 
oratorial abilities. Our R-oinan poets 
say that witticisms and epigrams are as 
necessary to the conversation of an in- 
telligent man as condiments and salt are 
to food. You should know that it be- 
comes a man like me to be cheerful and 
merry; it appertains to my profession to 
make many and witty remarks, in order 
that I may quickly dispose of my per- 
fumes. But to j^ou, 0 wise man and 
profound sage, it is befitting to accumu- 
late divine sayings in order that you may 
be enabled to gather pecuniary assist- 
ance for those poor and indigent men 
who constantly meditate in God’s law. 
My heart, however, is much better than 
my tongue, for you well know how I am 
always ready to assist you in your en- 
deavors to ameliorate the condition of 
Israel’s learned men, and that I earnestly 
desire to further your plans. I will also 
inform you that I distributed the money 
you sent through me for the poor Jew- 

* In II Samuel xxiii, 1, such a title is bestowed 
on David. 

+ See Medrash to Leviticus chap. 17, and 
Abadah Zarah, fol. 19 b: Kabbi Alexander 
called out; Who desires life? Who desires life? 

A great multitude assembled around him. He 
recited before them the verses quoted in the 
text from Ps. xxxiv, 13. 14 and 15. 

$ Eccl. iii, 7. 


ish students residing in the cities of 
Bethlehem and Zipori. It is impossible 
for me to describe their great joy and 
the many thanks and blessings they be- 
stowed upon you for the favors which 
you are always showing them. Here are 
the official documents from leading men 
of the congregations, wherein they cer- 
tify that they received from me the 
sums of money which you have sent 
through my hands.” With these words 
he took from his purse a small scroll and 
handed it to the sage. The rabbi, know- 
ing well that he had never sent any mon- 
ey through this perfume vender, under- 
stood from his words that the scroll con- 
tained some important secret, so he said: 
“ Many thanks to you, Papus, for your 
kind labors; please follow me to my resi- 
dence, and I wdll give you some money 
which I have collected for my pupils 
who reside in the city Barocah.” 

They walked together until they en- 
tered a small chamber, when the rabbi 
locked the door and read the scroll. He 
was greatly astoni&hed when he saw that 
the note was written by Shimeon Bar 
Cochba, and contained the following 
words: “Shimeon sends his salutation to 
his master and teacher Babbi Akiba, 
through the man who delivers this same 
scroll.” 

“According to what I see,” said Rabbi 
Akiba to Papus, “you have been sent to 
me by Shimeon Bar Cochba, and there- 
fore I pray you to inform me of every- 
thing which Shimeon told you to com- 
municate to me; but you must speak 
quietly, for walls have ears;* and though 
I am not afraid for myself, I fear lest 
we should spoil our plans by letting 
them be known too soon. You will 
therefore better write upon this scroll 
everything that Shimeon told you, and 
all the news that you may know.” 

* “The wall has ears.” Medra*hto Leviticus, 
chap, xxxii. 


20 


The Fall of Bethar. 


Papiis remained silent for a few sec- 
onds, when he said: ‘T fear that I could 
not make my meaning plain, if I was to 
put the matters entrusted to me in writ- 
ing.” But Rabbi Akiba understood that 
this was merely an excuse, so he said to 
him: “I admire your carefulness, and 
happy is the man who is always careful, 
but in the present case there is no need 
for j^ou to fear, for I solemnly promise 
that I will burn the scroll immediately 
after reading the words which you will 
write upon it,” 

“My venerable master, your command 
is sacred to me,” replied Papus. He 
then seated himself by a table and wrote 
these wor(fs: “The Jews who dwell in 
Bethar have united with the intention 
of removing the Roman yoke from them- 
selves, and they all faithfully believe 
that Shimeon Bar Cochba is the messiah 
of the Lord, and that Judah will in his 
days be redeemed and God’s temple 
rebuilt. All the wise men and teachers 
of the law believe in him and in his won- 
derful mission, and they all aid him with 
their utmost ability, might and power. 
Secret messengers have been sent by 
Bar Cochba to the thousand of Israelites 
dwelling in Alexandria and in Zipori, to 
exhort them to rise against the Romans 
at an appointed day. The eyes of all Is- 
rael are now upon you, who are known 
to be a holy man and a zealous worker 
in behalf of God and his law. They ex- 
pect you to visit our brethren who dwell 
in Africa, beyond the Ethiopic ocean, 
and who are exiled in the lands of G allia 
and Si him, and to exhort them to arm 
and prepare in order to assist us in our 
battles.” 

When Rabbi Akiba read these words, 
his face became flushed like that of a 
pleased child; his delight and pleasure 
sparkled from hl& beaming eyes, and his 
whole appearance manifested the gratifi- 
cation which this news afforded him. In 
the joy of his heart he took a pen and 


wrote the following upon a scroll: “Here- 
with I pledge my sincerest friendship to 
my friend and to Israel’s well-wisher; I 
will help you with all my power and 
might, if I will only become convinced 
that you are really the messenger of the 
Lord of hosts, and that you work at his 
command.” 

Papus took this scroll from Rabbi Aki- 
ba, saluted him humbly and reverentially 
and left his house. 

Rabbi Akiba was in those days old and 
full of years; he had nearly reached the 
years of Moses, the man of God, and like 
that ancient prophet his eyes had not 
grown dim, nor had his natural vigor 
abated. Like Moses, the spirit of brav- 
ery was strong in him, and his heart was 
like that of a lion which fears nothing. 
Like the ancient prophet, moreover, he 
loved his nation, Israel, more than he 
cared for his own life and happiness. 
According to an old tradition he was a 
descendant of Jael the wife of Heber 
the Kenite. 

Till he was forty years old that sage 
tended to the flock of a wealthy man in 
Jerusalem. At that time he lost his 
wife, and he desired to marry another 
woman in order to raise his orphaned 
children. When it happened that his 
master’s daughter, a virtuous and intel- 
ligent woman, fell in love with the shep- 
herd because of his honesty and upright- 
ness; he also loved her with all his soul. 
She swore that she would become his 
wife* if he would dedicate his life to the 
study of the law and to the pursuit of 
wisdom, and he made a solemn vow that 
he would give himself no rest until he 
would be as honored as any of the great 
men in Israel. From that time he and 
his son were constantly to be found at 
the seminaries of learning, where they 

* The beautiful romance of R. Akibah’s mar- 
riag-e to the daughter of the wealthy Kalba 
Shabua (one of three richest men of .Jerusalem, 
Gittin, fol. 50), is narrated in Kethuboth, fol. 
33, and rendered in the German in Fuersten- 
thal’s Aatholog’y of the Talmud. 


The Fall ot^ Bethar. 


21 


learned together the rudimentary branch- 
es of religious knowledge from the 
wise men who studied there. In abject 
poverty did he and his family live for a 
long time, for the daughter of the w^eal- 
thy man, who had sworn to become his 
wife, and who had fulfilled her oath, was 
banished from her father’s house, be- 
cause he was angry at her for having 
married the man who tended his flocks? 
and he had sworn that he would never 
give her a crust of bread. When the 
wise man had already grasped the neces- 
sary rudimentary knowledge, he left the 
seminary and went to the city of Yabna, 
which contained in those days numerous 
sages and scribes; there was the seat 
of the seventy-one prominent rabbis in 
Israel, and there was the largest and 
the most prominent university in the 
land. To that learned city did Kabbi 
Akiba go, there to quench his thirst for 
the words of the living God, at the feet 
of the teachers of the law. Twenty-four 
years did he remain in this seat of learn- 
ing and meditated in God’s law by day 
and by night, until the spirit of God’s 
wisdom and understanding rested upon 
him, and he became so familiar with all 
the secrets of the Divine law, that none 
of Israel’s sages could equal him. After 
the death of Ilaban Gamliel he was 
unanimously elected by the whole col- 
lege of rabbis as the spiritual head of 
the city of Barocah, situated within the 
territory belonging to the tribe of Dan. 
Many scholars flocked to him from all 
corners of the earth in order to learn 
his wisdom, and in a very short 
time their number amounted to twenty- 
four thousand, all of them men of gi:eat 
ability and promise. This was his re- 
ward for the labor he had done during 
twenty-four years, and for his constant 
study. Every difficult question that oc- 
curred was referred to him by the wise 
men of his generation ; every dispute in re- 
ligion or law, knowledge or science, was 


brought before him, and his decisions 
upon any and every question were like 
those of an oracle. His fame and name 
w^axed greater from day to da}^ until the 
greatest of the sages believed that he 
was as competent to receive the law 
from Mount Sinai as Moses the servant 
of God himself. 

There prevailed a mysterious legend 
among the people of Judah to the effect 
that this holy man would not die as 
every man dieth, but that a painful and 
terrible death by the hands of the ene- 
my and persecutor of the Jews was in 
store for him. The legend ran thus:* 

“When Moses ascended to receive the 
law from God’s hand, all the mysteries 
of generations to come were revealed 
unto him. Then it was when he saw 
God's glory face to face. The voice 
of the Almighty spoke to him : ‘ My 
faithful servant Moses. I give thee my 
precious and perfect Law, which was se- 
creted in my treasures since many hun- 
dred generations before heaven and 
earth were created. Let this Law be an 
eternal light to illumine the darkness of 
the whole human family; let it also 
cause the descendants of Abraham to 
enjoy true happiness and eternal welfare. 
But this Law contains many profound 
and mysterious things, so that only a 
wise man in whom my wisdom dwells 
can thoroughly comprehend its signifi- 
cance. Therefore will I send in future 
days Akiba, the son of Joseph, to bring 
to light its concealed meaning. To him 
I will make known the wonderful mys- 
teries which are contained in every 
word and in every character of the Law.’ 
Moses prayed to the Almight}^ that he 
might show him this great man. He 
was commanded to look lower down, and 
he beheld a great many sages sitting in a 
circle, and in the centre sat an old man 
of fine appearance explaining the Law. 
Moses listened very attentively, and 

* Munachoth, fol. 29 b. 


22 


The Fall of Bethar. 


heard how that sago explained to the 
numerous scholars surrounding him the 
lofty spiritual meaning hidden in 
every word and letter. In this manner 
did Moses learn the mysteries contained 
in the Law, before he had yet delivered 
it to Israel. 

‘ This is the man,’ said God to Moses: 

‘ this is the man of whom I spoke to 
thee.’ Closes said to God: ‘ Lord of hosts, 
a holy man like this dwells in thy divine 
palace; why doest thou not give thy Law 
through his hands?’ Qod answered him; 
‘ Keep silence you who are born of wom- 
an, my wisdom has decreed otherwise.’ 
Moses said again: ‘ Show me, I pray thee! 
the .glorious compensation thou hast in 
store for this great and good man!’ God 
answered him: ‘Look behind thee— but 
what ails thee son of Amram that thou 
art so frightened?’ ‘Alas! 0 righteous 
Judge!’ exclaimed Moses from the depths 
of his heart, ‘ how shall I not be terrified 
when I see that idolaters are tearing the 
skin of this saint from oft* his flesh. 
Alas! is this the consequence and reward 
of wisdom?’ ‘ Keep silence thou who 
art born of woman,’ commanded the 
Most High, ‘ keep silence, thy soul is not 
yet separated from earthly impurities, 
and therefore thy sight is yet too feeble 
to comprehend the mysteries of exist- 
ence.’” 

These mysterious and sealed words were 
traditionally received, and were whis- 
pered by the wise men of his generation 
to each other. Kabbi Eliezer the Great 
had also predicted that he w'ould suifer 
a cruel death, so cruel that the like of 
which had never been heard. Beside all 
this, Babbi Akiba was very highly hon- 
ored and respected in the eyes of all Is- 
rael, because of his great charity and 
liberality, for he had given away all his 
property and wealth to the pupils who 
studied in his seminary; he also collected 
money from the wealthy and liberal peo- 
ple for the poor and indigent throughout 


the land of Judah. He made no distinc- 
tion between the poor of his own people 
and those of other nations, and none 
were exempt from his munificence. His 
countenance always beamed and his 
heart was always strong; he was afraid 
of no calamity, and he tried to find the hid- 
den good in every disaster that befell 
him. He had always retained the hope 
that he would live to behold the time 
when God would return to Zion and 
would dwell in his temple as in days 
gone by. He labored hard to spread re- 
ligious knowledge among the people. 
Boldly and fearlessly he rebuked the 
governor of the land for his sins, and the 
lords of the empire for their transgres- 
sions. The entire house of Israel re- 
spected his words as though they pro- 
ceeded from the living God. Shimeon 
Bar Cochba knew very well that if this 
revered and renowned man could only 
be brought to believe in him, his exam- 
ple would soon be followed by all the 
different Jewish factions. The name of 
Bar Cochba was then well known 
throughout the land, and they all be- 
lieved that God’s spirit rested upon him, 
and that he had been chosen as the King- 
Messiah. But Rabbi Akiba, with his 
numerous and influential disciples, re- 
fused to believe in him or to assist him 
until the motives of his actions would 
become clear, and until it would be fully 
demonstrated that he possessed all the 
high abilities and holy virtues which ap- 
pertained to themessiah of Jacob’s God, 
through whom J udah should be redeemed 
forever. 

VI. 

KETTTRAH IN THE HANDS OF THE 
TYRANT. 

Rabbi Eliezer Hamofiai went to the 
city of Caesarea, accompanied by his 
daughter Keturah. When they arrived 
at Caesarea, he was taken to the audience 
chamber of Tinius Rufus, whilst his 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


23 


daughter was locked in a small and soli- 
tary chamber. Bufus sat upon his offi- 
cial throne, and as soon as he saw Babbi 
Eliezer he roared at him: “Why do you 
advise your people to rebel against Cae- 
sar and his throne?” 

The sage answered him very calmly: 
“ The man who told you this of me is a 
fabricator of falsehoods. God forbid 
that I should be guilty of such wicked 
conduct. I am a peaceable man, and I 
devote all my efforts and energies to im- 
plant the seed of peace into the hearts 
of the Jews.” 

Bufus looked at him angrily and called 
out in a thundering voice: “It is only in 
my presence that you preach peace; for 
if you mean what you say, why do you 
not control the wild and fanatical spirit 
of your sister’s son, who is anxious to 
fight against the Bomans, and who mis- 
leads the Jews by pretending that he has 
been chosen by God to reign over 
them?” 

“ It is true,” answered the old man, 
calmly and slowly, “It is true that the 
children of my people expect a redemp- 
tion, but the time of that redemption is 
yet distant, for it will not appear till the 
end of time. But for the present, my 
lord, I pray you to lessen the burden of 
a miserable and forlorn race like the 
children of my people; if you do this, 
then as true as God liveth, this nation 
will serve you faithfully with all their 
heart and soul.” 

“I,” replied Bufus, “I will observe the 
commands of my emperor; as Cmsar 
commands me so will I do. I cannot 
help but admire the truth of his majes- 
ty’s opinion when he always says to me, 
that you might as well give firearms and 
dangerous weapons into the hands of an 
ignorant boy as to give liberty to the 
Jews.” 

“But is it the desire of Cmsar that you 
should so oppress and deject this forlorn 
nation, and treat them so severely as to 


leave them no other means of escape 
than revolution and rebellion? This is 
not so, my lord! on the contrary, the 
mighty Cmsar would think more of you 
if you led his flock with a shepherd’s 
staff, and guided them by peaceful wa- 
ters. He would praise you with all his 
might if you would fill the place of his 
glorious majesty with equity and justice, 
with kindness and mercy. Allow us, I 
pray you, to worship the Lord God of 
our forefathers and to obey His law, and 
Israel will be as submissive as a lamb.” 

“Your law!” answered Bufus in a dom- 
ineering voice, “your law teaches you to 
hate us with all your power, and to de- 
fraud us and cheat us to the utmost of 
your ability. Your law inspires the souls 
of contemptible and disgusting slaves 
like yourselves with an unbecoming 
pride and haughtiness, for it leads you 
to believe that you have been chosen 
from among all nations, and that the 
heavens with its numerous hosts, and 
the earth with its diverse productions, 
were created only for your sake.” 

“Pardon, 0! governor!” said the sage in 
true humility, “pardon my words, but 
would to God that you might study the 
words of our law without prejudice and 
without animosity towards its adherents^ 
for you would then find that you were 
mistaken in your opinion; you would 
then discover that our law teaches us to 
love all mankind sincerely, and to treat 
those who differ from us in religion as 
brethren and. friends, for one God created 
us all. This is, however, not the time to 
argue this matter, but this you should 
know, namely, that the Box’d God of Is- 
rael is the source of love, of gi'ace, and 
of mercy, and His law teaches love, grace 
and mercy towards all peoples and na- 
tions; and it is in this that our pride con- 
sists, in having a law which offers peace 
and good will to all mankind. Allow us 
to be proud of this; permit us to boast 
that we are the only nation on earth that 


24 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


worships the One God, the God of love, 
of grace and of mercy, that obeys His 
law which teaches peace and good will; 
such a religious nation will also respect 
the king who has been set over them by 
the Almighty, and will faithfully serve 
their rulers, if they will only refrain 
from treating them with anger and tyr- 
anny, and cease from persecuting them 
without cause.” 

Bufus remained silent for a few mo- 
ments, then he said to Babbi Eliezer in 
a haughty tone: “Do you not know yet 
that the conqueror may do with the 
conquered whatever pleases him? This 
law is known by all the nations of the 
world, and it is only your arrogant and 
contemptible nation who refuse to recog- 
nize this universal law.” 

“But tell me, I pray you, 0, governor! 
should not the conqueror be merciful? 
You call all other nations besides you 
‘barbarians,’ because of the barbarity 
with which they treat all strangers 
whilst you proclaim yourselves to be an 
enlightened and a clever nation. But 
wherein consists this enlightenment, if 
you try to debase and tread upon a poor 
and helpless nation whom you have con 
quered? Do you want to manifest your 
ability to crush out and exterminate a 
nation that is weaker than yourself, and 
who allow themselves to be trod upon 
like dust? When we were under the 
mild rule of the Persians, we were con- 
tented, we had plenty of food and we 
were obedient ; we offered prayers in our 
sanctuary every day for the prosperity 
of our kings, for they were kind and mer- 
ciful; but from the day that the Bomans 
have ruled over us, there is to be heard 
from my nation nothing but cries of 
pain; there is to be seen nothing but 
poverty and oppression, agony and tor- 
ture which is too great for any one to 
endure.” 

“Keep silent, accursed Jew!” shouted 
Bufus angrily, “how dare you speak to 


me with such impudence? I am no long- 
er astonished now that your nation tries 
to rebel against their masters, when their 
teacher and leader utters such treasona- 
ble sentiments in their presence. How- 
ever, I will now exact from you a pledge 
that you may not continue to disturb 
the peace of the country; your daughter 
shall remain in the palace with my wife 
Bufina, until I will be convinced of your 
future behavior.” 

The wise and saintly Babbi Eliezer 
became frightened and a deadly palor 
covered his face. For a long time he 
remained silent and could not utter a 
word, only his lips moved in prayer, at 
last he said: 

“From the day you commanded me to 
appear before you, I suspected that 
there was a vile motive concealed in that 
demand, but my understanding refused 
to believe that a sensible man would 
willingly add fuel to the flame burning 
around him. Though my heart is confi- 
dent that my daughter will not allow 
herself to be defiled, and that she will^ 
sooner take her life than be guilty of an 
unrighteous action, I nevertheless warn 
you that you greatly endanger yourself 
by detaining my daughter in your palace, 
for you will by your actions change a 
tame dove into a wild and devouring 
lion! When the Jews discover that you 
lay your hands even on their choicest off- 
spring, and that you do not hesitate to 
tread with your feet upon the most pre- 
cious treasures of their souls and the 
dearest possessions of their hearts, they 
will arise in tempestuous indignation 
and will cover the land like the mighty 
and stormy waters just released from 
their boundaries; like burning volcanos 
they will emit lakes of fire and flame! 
[f you desire to maintain peace among 
the residents of the land, write to Caesar 
that he shall send you more soldiers, and 
tell him that the army which is at pres- 
ent at your disposal is too small to main- 


Thk Fall ov Bethar. 


25 


tain your authority with the children of 
Israel. But how cnn my weak and frail 
daughter help you in extinguishing the 
immense fire that is being kindled 
around you.” 

Rufus trembled violently upon hearing 
these remarks from a wise and venerable 
man like Rabbi Eliezer, and he tried 
with all his might to silence the violent 
passions of his heart, but his passionate 
love for Keturah, the prettiest of maid- 
ens, which had long burned in his breast, 
triumphed over his understanding, and 
he absolutely refused to allow her depar- 
ture, for he wanted to gratify the desires 
of his heart. He exclaimed loudly ; 

“Old man, begone! and I, even I, will 
exterminate all conspirators from the 
land!” 

Then did the sage fall on the ground at 
Rufus’ feet imploring: “Governor! you 
see me now kneeling and imploring at 
your feet. This honor I have not yet 
given to any human being, and I deserve 
to be punished with death for according 
to flesh and blood an honor which should 
be given to God alone, but I do this for 
the sake of my nation and brethren, and 
what do I care for my life? I pray you. 
governor, to return to me my only daugh- 
ter for the sake of the country’s peace, 
for your own peace and prosperity, aye 
for your life! Let my sister’s son take 
her to wife, for I promised to give her 
to him if he submits to the Romans and 
pacifies all the divisions and quarrels 
which now disturb the land. But if he 
will become aware that she whom he so 
dearly loves, and whose picture is en- 
graved upon his heart, is imprisoned in 
your palace, his anger will burn like fire, 
and in his burning jealousy he will mu- 
tilate, destroy and turn this fair land 
into a wilderness.” 

Rufus would not allow him to finish 
liis words, for he exclaimed: “Get away 
from here, old man ! Let your sister’s 
son come here and T will know how to 


treat him.” He motioned Rabbi Eliezer 
to leave the palace. His servants hur- 
ried the bereaved old man to the street. 

With a wounded and broken heart 
did the sage leave the presence of Ru- 
fus; streams of tears flowed from his 
eyes and descended upon his beard; 
many sighs escaped from the depths of 
his heart, and ho moaned: 

“Woe unto me! my eyes have seen the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and the burn- 
ing of our sanctuary, and now 1 am to 
behold the devastation of Bethar, and 
the terrible suffering in store for the 
remnai^t of Judah!” 

At this groan of Rabbi Eliezer, a voice 
from on high like the report of a rolling 
thunder responded: “Thine eyes will not 
behold this great evil, for before it will 
come, thou wilt be gathered to thy fath- 
ers.” 

When the sage heard this divine voice 
his spirit was restored, and with a calm 
heart he returned to his house. He re- 
commended his only daughter to the 
protection of God; whilst he covered 
himself with sackcloth and ashes. He 
would not even eat dry bread nor drink 
any water; he gave himself no rest and 
allowed his eyes no sleep, but constantly 
prayed to God that the evil might be 
averted, and mercy be shown to the rem- 
nant of Judah, His nation and heritage. 

At that time Papus came to the house 
of Shimeon Bar Cochba and handed him 
the letter which Rabbi Akiba had sent 
through him; he also informed him that 
all the people were willing to rise as one 
man and to expel the Romans from the 
land, but that their hearts were not bold 
enough to commit any definite action 
unless all the sages and scribes would 
consent. He also told him that among 
the rabbis there were many who loved 
the Romans and sought their welfare 
and prosperity; anct that he even knew 
the names of a good many sages who 
were an obstacle to the realization of 


2(1 


The Fall of Bethar. 


their plans, as for example Babbi Elie- 
/er Hamodai. 

*'What do you know or what have you 
heard about that man?” exclaimed Shim- 
eon. anpjrily. 

‘T do not know anything, but 1 hav(‘ 
heard from truthful men that he. . . . ' 

‘‘AVhat did you hear? Speak!” shouted 
Shimeon. 

‘T heard that he gave his daughter 
Keturah as a hostage to Bufus.” 

“It is false! your words ure false!” 
shouted Shimeon, in terrible indignation. 
“T will destroy you as I would ajtvorm if 
your words are untrue.’ He ran in hot 
haste to the house of Babbi Eliezer and 
exclaimed: “Where is your daughter 
Iveturah? Where is she?” 

Babbi Eliezer calmly answered him; 
“She is in the governor’s palace a.s a 
pledge for the peace of the land.” 

Then did Shim eon’s wrath begin to 
boil, and he exclaimed in a voice of 
thunder; “Ho you know that you deserve 
death for having spoken peace with the 
Bomans! Ho you want the honor of 
your house and daughter to vanish, and 
j^our name to be eternally dishonored 
and infamous?” 

Before Babbi Eliezer had time to an- 
swer him, he hastily ran off, for his heart 
overflowed with vengeance, and diverse 
thoughts and plans as to the means of 
saving his beloved from dishonor or death 
crowded upon his mind with the rapidity 
of lightning, and without thinking of the 
consequences of his rash action, he has- 
tened to the city of Ctesarea. 


VTI. 

SHl.MEO.N S JiKAV’KRY AND KETUKAH/S 
VIRTUE. 

When Shimeon arrived at Bufus’ pal- 
ace, he was commanded by the door- 
keeper to remove the arms which he had 
on his person, for no armed man could* 
be admitted into the governor’s presence. 


After Shimeon had divested himself of 
his weapons, soldiers ushered him into 
Jlufus' chamber. 

“What do you want in my house?” 
shouted Bufus loudly. 

“I want you to give me my cousin Ko- 
turah, for I ^yant to restore her to her 
father’s house.’' 

“Are you more interested in her liber- 
ation than her own hither?'’ asked Bu- 
fus angrily. 

“Her lather is an old and feeble man 
who implores with sui)plications and 
tears, instead of obtaining his rights 
by force and power.'’ So spoke Shimeon 
with a brave heart; his anger had 
cooled off, and he understood that 
Bufus had detained Keturah by force. 

Bufus looked at him with contempt, 
and said derisively: “T have heard that 
you are a mighty warrior, and that you 
intend to do wonders with your strength. 
You even boast that you arc a second 
Samson, now come and exhibit your 
strength by removing Keturah from my 
power!” 

“I stand ready to light with you or any 
of your generals.” 

“Ho you want to light with me?” said 
Bufus in a jeering and insulting tone 
but also with secret fear, for he saw that 
Shimeon’s bold words and manner were 
gratifying to numerous Boman generals 
who were his rivals and foes. “Ignorant 
youth! how dare you be so impertinent? 
Ho you imagine that a beardless and 
contemptible slave will be allowed to 
fight with his master and ruler. Such a 
great honor shall not be bestowed upon 
you. But as I am anxious to see your 
great power and strength, you shall light 
with the king of beasts. You arc from 
the tribe of J udah who was compared to 
a lion’s whelp, and who bore upon its 
flag the image of a lion. I have also 
heard that you was born when the sun 
liad reached the constellation Leo^ when 
it proceeded to Yircfo^ therefore 


TriK Fall of Bethar. 


27 


you must fight with the lion before you 
can obtain the virgin. You need not be 
afraid to fight with the lion, for Samson, 
the hero of your nation, rent a lion as if 
he would have rent a kid.” 

After he had thus spoken he winked 
with his eyes, and in a moment there 
were brought heavy chains wherewith to 
bind the doomed Shimeon; but Shimeon 
immediately grasped the chain and an- 
grily broke it as a thread of tow is bro- 
ken when it touches the fire, lie then 
said: “T will fight with the lion, but as 
long as there is a breath of life in me no 
man shall bind me and live!” 

At that moment Shimeon was sur- 
rounded by armed soldiers, and taken to 
the terrible place where men fight with 
wild beasts in the presence of numerous 
people. Papus went through the ave- 
nues and streets of the city and called 
upon all the inhabitants to assemble at 
the large amphitheatre, in order to wit- 
ness the fight between Shimeon Bar 
Cochba and a young lion. From all sides 
did merry and pleasure seeking people 
flock to the theatre to enjoy the sight of 
the combat between Judah’s hero and a 
terrible lion. Ilufus sat in the bench 
reserved for the aristocracy, which was 
situated opposite the gate whence the 
devouring animals proceeded to fight 
with human beings. On the gallery sat 
all the lords, officers, and a great many 
of the Boman generals; there did also 
sit the priests of Jupiter and Mars, and 
the judges of the province. Above them 
were strongly armed soldiers, and on the 
highest gallery ^vere the citizens who 
had come to witness this terrible com- 
bat. At a distance could be seen an iron 
cage, from the walls of which a terrible 
lion could be seen glaring from side to 
side, grinding his teeth, peering with his 
eyes, roaring angrily, and anxious to de- 
vour his prey ; and the Bomans were 
as anxious to enjoy the terrible 
sight which always afforded them grati- 


fication. The Jews, however, who were 
assembled there were still more eager to 
behold the manifestation of a sign and 
miracle, and to see how by the help of 
God, Bar Cochba would triumph over 
the lion, and how the lion would crouch 
under his feet as is becoming t(> the 
messiah of Jacob’s God. 

The silence of death prevailed through- 
out the building; no one lifted a hand or 
moved a foot, for the eyes of all were 
anxiously bent upon the ring where the 
combat would take place. Suddenly Bu- 
fus motioned with his hand, and the 
executioners hastily brought Shimeon 
Bar Cochba and placed him in the 
ring. The doomed man was naked, bare- 
foot and unarmed. The silence became 
terrible, and the immense throng altern- 
ately rejoiced and feared; their hearts 
trembled at one moment ajid rejoiced at 
the other. Bufus motioned again, and 
in a moment the cage was opened, 
whence issued a terrible lion with a fright- 
ful roar and sprang at Shimeon. The 
Bomans clapped their hands and ap- 
plauded heartily, for they believed that 
the lion would annihilate his victim in a 
second; but events did not justify their 
conclusion. Shimeon stood firmly against 
the lion and looked at him boldly and 
fearlessly, whilst the lion became fright- 
ened and hurriedly left his position. For 
about ten steps did the wild beast move 
backwards and roared, when he regained 
his brute courage, and with a terrible 
yell he jumped upon Shimeon; but he 
left him again this time when he saw 
that his victim stood as firmly as a heavy 
rock in the midst of the ocean, and that 
he looked him calmly in the eye. At the 
distance of five steps from Shimeon the 
lion kneeled and crouched down, from 
the depths of his breast did he roar and 
yell, and with bloody burning eyes he 
glared upon his antagonist, who stood 
calm and fearless,. and who did not re- 
move his eyes from him. Profound si- 


28 


Thk FaU; of Bktiiak. 


lenco provailoU tlirouuliout tli»‘ ihoatit*. 
and even the lion became silent for a 
inoinent. Bnt suddenl}’ and unexpect- 
edly an immense and terrible roar es- 
caped from the lion's mouth, fierce glan- 
ces issued from his burning eyes, the 
earth trembled under his immense 
weight, when, with the rapidity of light- 
ning and with a voice like thunder, h(‘ 
jumped upon Shimeon. The Romans 
cheered loudly for they supposed that 
Jacob’s star had set, and the Jews wept 
for grief. But in a moment both were 
disappointed, for Shimeon, who had un- 
til now stood firm as a mountain and im- 
movable as a rock, ((uickly turned 
around and mounted on the lion's back; 
with his powerful fists he pounded the 
lion's head until he had made him docile 
and obedient. The lion leaped and 
jumped, roared and yelled until the pil- 
lars of the theatre trembled under him. 
and did all in his power to throw his ri- 
der; but when he saw that he was impo- 
tent for the task, and that it would not 
take long before his back would be bro- 
ken by the powerful fists of his strong 
and mighty rider, he humbled his prid<‘, 
became calm and quiet, consented to 
carry him in silence, and became as 
obedient as a horse who will go wherever 
his rider leads him. Then were the 
hearts of the Jews filled with triumph- 
ant joy, and they said to each other; 

“Now it is clear, the ass'^ has been 
transformed into a lion. Abraham rode 
upon an ass when he went to Mount 
Moriah, but the king-messiah will enter 
the gates of Jerusalem riding upon a 
lion, and like Samson he will redeem Is- 
rael from theii* persecutors'’. 

Suddenly an arrow flew by the head of 
Bar Cochba, but it missed its aim and 
struck one of the pillars upon which the 
theatre stood. 

“Murder! Assassination!” was shouted 
by thousand of voices from all directions, 
♦Bee Zech. ix, a. 


riot and confusion prevailed in the vast 
throng, the atmosphere was filled with 
many and diverse exclamations, and the 
tumult was terrible, 'riirough the midst 
of this temi>estuous and perplexed 
throng did the rider of the lion quickly 
ride, making his way between thousands 
of })eo]de. He reached the gate of the 
house, removed with his mighty arm 
the gate and post together, and escaped. 
The lion carried him fleetly across moun- 
tains and valleys, until he could no 
longer be seen. Rufus shouted wrath - 
fully: “Follow that rebel and capture 
him!” but he had already made good his 
escape and his steps could not even be 
traced. Then did Jlufus solemnly decree 
and decide that Bar Cochba was a sorcer- 
er and a magician; that he held commu- 
nication with the evil one. and that he 
had ])erformed his wonderful deeds by 
witchcraft. The priests of Jupiter 
corroborated his words with some addi- 
tions of their own, for they loudly pie- 
claimed : “All the Jews are magicians and 
necromancers! Rufus even improved 
upon their opinion, and exclaimed: “.Let 
all these magicians be expelled from the 
city of Caesarea.” ( )n that day all the Jews 
were exjielled from Ca'sarea followed by 
abuses, curses and blasiihemy; all their 
silver, gold, valuables and tu’operty were 
retained by the Romans. 

In anger and wrath, shame and indig- 
nation. did Rufus return to his palace, 
and walked silently hither and thither 
plunged in profound thought; suddenly 
he stopped by a window and said angri- 
ly: “The raven has escaped from the net, 
but the dove is yet there, and she shall 
not escape, ’ He then proceeded to Ke- 
turah's chamber, approached her with a 
smiling countenance, and gently said to 
her: “Beautiful damsel! listen to me 
and it will be well with you; yield your 
heart to the powerful love which burns 
in my breast towards you. and I will be- 
stow upon you all my wealth and pos- 


'Puk Fa[;L of Betiiak. 


29 


^iossi(>lJS for love.’' His eyes burned 
like flames, and his countenance, which 
was always red from wine, assumed a 
still deeper hue. 

’‘Governor!” replied Keturah, “Gov- 
ernor! I know not what it is that you de- 
sire from me.” 

“Love!” said llufus, “it is love that! 
desire from you, and I want you to e:rat- 
ify the desires of my heart.” 

“Seek love from the wife of your 
youth, the rpieen of women; why should 
you desire love from a poor Jewess?” 

“You are not jmor, my ])eauty!” ajid 
his eyes were glowing with his passion. 
“You are not poor! for beauty is more 
precious than all wealth; and as you 
are the fairest among the fair, there is 
not as wealthy a ])erson as you through- 
out all the land! You are more lovely 
than Venus, prettier than Juno, and 
more beautiful than ^linerva! If you 
will but gratify my desires, 1 wdll make 
you (jueen over all juy choice posses- 
sions and mistress over all my heart’s 
treasures.” 

■‘What have T to do. with the beauty 
of your idols?” replied Keturah. “I know 
only one God, a God who helps all thos(‘ 
whose hearts are pure and who act hon- 
estly. Therefore, what have 1 to do 
with all your luxuries? To me they are 
vanity and delusion! God is with me, 
what more do T need?” 

“You always give me such foolish 
answers,” said llufus, proudly; “and I 
am tired of listening any longer to such 
childish talk. I warn you now, that 
henceforth you will know that my hand 
is powerful and my arm is mighty.” 

“The might of your hand and out- 
stretched arm is like a straw in compari- 
son with the arm of my God!” answered 
Keturah. “And as God is with me, for 
whom need I be afraid?” 

“I wish that I knew wherein the great- 
ness of your God’s power consisted?” in- 
quired llufus. “If he is strong and 


mighty why does he not redeem his chos- 
en people, the Jews, from the hands of 
the Homans, who continually curse and 
blaspheme him?” 

’‘Do you believe that your hands are 
mighty? Do you imagine that you con- 
quered us through your power? No, no! 
The Lord our God delivered us into 
your hands because we had sinned 
against him; he gave you the ascendency 
over us because wo would not obey his 
commands.” 

“In a short time,’’ exclaimed Rufus, 
angrily. “In a short time 1 will prove 
to you that the hand of your God is 
powerless to helj), and that he has not 
the might to save you from my hands.” 

The sjurit of God entered Ketnrah; 
her eyes shone with the lustre of the 
heavenly stars: her countenance beamed 
like that of an angel, and in a sw(‘et but 
mighty voice she answered: “Ah, Gov'- 
ernor! you should know that my love to- 
wards my God and nation is even more 
pf)werful than death, and for their sake 
1 will gladly endure death; therefore, 
why should I fear your uplifted sword? 
The arm of a human being can only de- 
stroy the flesh, but over the soul it has 
no control.” 

’’May be you have given your love to 
another.” asked llufus, “and therefore it 
is that you refuse my offer?” 

Keturah blushed at these words and 
r(‘plied: “T will not deny that your 
words are true, and that also for this 
reason 1 cannot and will not listen to 
you. Ah, Governor! leave me; have you 
forgotten the bravery of Israel’s daught- 
ers when the spirit rests upon them? 
Hemeinber, I pray you, what Jael the 
wife of Heber did to Sisera the general 
of Jabin’s army, and Tvhat Judith did to 
Holof ernes; remember these things and 
tremble!” 

These last words entered the heart of 
Rufus like sharp and poisoned arrows, 
and a deadly fear came over him, for a 


Tut. Fall or Bethatl 


:M) 


Chaldean had long ago j predicted to him 
that lie would die'by tlu* liands <>1 a wom- 
an. Miudi as he had tried to jest at 
this prediction, lie always believed in it 
and feared it, for he like all the Bomans 
believed in charms, predictions and div- 
inations, and like all cruel and tyran- 
nical men he was a coward, and a falling 
leaf would make him tremble, lie gave 
Keturah a vindictive look, walked out of 
the chamber, and noisily locked the door 
behind him. From that day on he gave 
Keturah to Butina his wife as a servant, 
and Butina, who well knew that her hus- 
band loved Keturah and who was bitter- 
ly jealous of her, treated her cruelly and 
made her do all manner of hard labor. 
Rufus believed that oppression and ill- 
treatment would cause Keturah to hum- 
ble herself and to love him. in order that 
she might be the mistress of the house 
and mistress of the woman who at pres- 
ent ordered her about so haughtily and 
ruled her so tyrannically ; and — when 
Keturah would humble herself before 
him— he would revenge himself upon her 
by abusing and disgracing her. But she 
bore all her hard and oppressive labor as 
though she would have been a slave, for 
she was sustained by the hope that the 
days of her sutfering and tribulation 
would not last long; she expected that 
(lod would soon redeem his nation, and 
that she would also be included in the 
salvation wdiich God would send through 
his messiah Shimeon Bar Cochba, the 
man who loved her with an eternal 
love. 


V]]L 

THE SIEGE OF C/ESAREA AND THE HE- 
ROIC DEATH OF KETFRAH. 

Jn those days a holy man passed 
through the land; he journeyed from 
village to village and from city to city; 
he was a very hairy man. he wore a 
leather girdle around his loins, his coun- 
tenance was illumined with holy ardor, 


and his appearance w^as imposing. That 
man was the prophet Elijah. He prom- 
ised the remnant of Israel that the mes- 
siah of J acob’s God would appear in a 
very short time; thus fultilling God’s 
promise to IMalachi the last of the pro- 
shets: 'vBehold I wdll send you Elijah 
the i)rophet before the coming of the 
great and dreadful day of the Imrd; and 
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to- 
ward the children, and the heart of the 
children tow'ard their fathers.” The 
prophet proclaimed the religion of the 
Lord of Hosts with an eloquence mighty 
and tremendous. He would move his 
hearers like the whirlwind wLich moves 
mountains and splits rocks, like the 
voice within the bowels of the earth 
when it quakes, like angry burning lire 
flames, and he w^ould cheer them with a 
voice as sw'eet and gentle as that of a 
violin or flute. He comforted the sor- 
rowful and consoled the broken-hearted. 
He replied satisfactorily to all the ques- 
tions of Israel’s sages, and decided all 
theological and civil disputes with 
knowledge and uuderstanding. He also 
performed great wonders and miracles 
in the presence of the assembled congre- 
gation of Israel, and they all faithfully 
believed in him, because he had proven 
himself to be a holy man, and the word 
of God, truth and righteousness were in 
his mouth. The Bomans had also made 
heavier the yoke of the Jews at that 
time: they oppressed them with a bar- 
barism even more ferocious than before ; 
they cruelly plundered and persecuted 
them until death came to be considered 
a blessing. The Jews became desjierate, 
armed themselves, and they proceeded 
as one man to besiege the city Cmsarea, 
wdiere Bufus resided, and whence all 
their misfortunes proceeded. They deter- 
mined to fight against this fortified city, 
to take possession of it, and to crown 
Bar Cochba as its king. Even the wom- 
en and children were possessed by the 


Thk Fai.l of Bethah. 


31 


spirit of* bravery, and followed the sol- 
diers in the battles against their mutual 
enemy. Like the stormy waves of the 
ocean all the warriors surrounded the 
walls of Csesarea, with a deafening noise 
did they encircle it, and the earth under 
their feet shook and trembled. Though 
they were not trained soldiers like the 
Homans, who learned the arts of war 
from their youth, they were nevertheless 
supported by their brave spirit, by their 
mighty hatred towards the Homans, and 
by their enthusiasm for the Lord God of 
their forefathers, for their holy religion, 
and for the land of their birth. They 
stood, therefore, unflinchingly around 
the walls of Cmsarea, and were ready to 
risk their lives in battle with powerful 
and trained soldiers whose strength had 
gained recognition throughout the 
world. Shimeon Bar Cochba rode on his 
terrible lion through the camp of Israel ; 
his appearance was that of a mighty 
hero on the day of battle, and his words 
were as refreshing and reviving to every 
heart and soul as a heavenly dew. With 
confidence he threw an arrow into the 
city, around which a small scroll was 
V)asted containing this inscription in 
Greek characters: “Behold, here is the 
nation whom you have held in contempt: 
increase your army now and come to 
fight against us!” Thousands of young 
men from the Jewish army chopped off 
their thumbs in the presence of the Bo- 
man guard in order to show the strength 
of their hearts and their intense love to- 
wards their country.* By day and by 
night they poured a strong fire into the 
fortified city; they surrounded it with 
watch-towers; they built ditches and 
strongly besieged it. All the missiles 
the Romans threw at them from the walls, 
were blunted before they reached the Jew- 
ish army, and were thus made harmless. 

Shimeon was the first to mount the 
wall, and to aim with his bow, and in a 

*See Medrash t() Lamentation!^. 


moment he was followed by all his sol- 
diers with a terrible noise, and they im- 
mediately began to shower arrows, burn- 
ing stones and deadly missiles into the 
city. 'Jdiey slaughtered many and made 
the place desolate. Rufus trembled 
greatly when he saw that it would be 
utterly impossible for him to fight 
against this vast and powerful multi- 
tude with the few soldiers he had with 
him. The governor of Syria could not 
send him any help, because the Jews of 
Antioch had rebeled against his govern- 
ment. and were even then waging a ter- 
rible war against him. Also in the city 
of Zii)ori, the capital of Galilee, the 
Jews had destroyed all the Romans who 
resided there. In Alexandria also had 
the Jews arisen with an avenging sword 
against their persecutors and plunderers, 
the Homans. Besides this, the Jews had 
closed all entrance by water from the 
city of Cmsarea, and would not admit 
any food or victuals to come in. Taking 
all these things into consideration, Ru- 
fus desi)aired; his courage and cunning 
utterly forsook him, for he saw no other 
way open than either to attack the Jews 
with his few soldiers, and to be slaugh- 
tered upon the battle field, or to remain 
in the city and starve. He expected no 
mercy from the Jews — a nation whom 
he had always tormented, persecuted, 
plundered, hated and despised; and be- 
sides, it would be a disgrace and dishonor 
to the Romans, who had been victorious 
over mighty armies and ruled over pow- 
erful nations, to humble themselves be- 
fore a nation whom their sword had con- 
quered, and whom they held in con- 
tempt. 

AVhilst his mind was plunged in deep 
thought, a new idea suddenly arose 
within him which illumined the profound 
darkness in which he had hitherto been 
cast. He quickly ordered Keturah to be 
brought in his presence, and he said to 
her: “You behold with your eyes what 


The Fali. of Bethah. 


:">2 


your nation triet? to do unto iiio; but why 
does your face shine so, and why is it 
that rays of joy beam forth from your 
eyes? It is not yet time for my enemy 
to rejoice, for they are not yet the vic- 
tors. I want you to understand that you 
liold in your hand the life and destiny 
of your nation. Von must persuade 
your crazy and fanatical lover to retreat 
from the city, and 1 will then grant all 
your wishes and all the wishes of the 
Jews.’’ 

‘*l)o you not know, governor, that our 
greatest wish is to cast off your yoke 
from oui necks, to serve the Lord our 
(rod in his temple as in former days, and 
not to allow the foot of a Bomaii to step 
within the l)oundaries of our holy land?” 

“Enough of your nonsense!” shouted 
Bufus in a terrible voice. '\Persuade 
your crazy and fanatical lover to retreat 
this moment, and if he does not. ...” 

“And if he does not," said Keturah, in 
a solemn and prophetical voice; “the 
city will fall into Ids hands and all your 
soldiers wdll be slaughtered.” 

“Silence!” shouted Rufus in anger; he 
stamped with liis feet and roared like a 
W'ounded lion. “Be quick!” he screamed 
inhiswu-ath; “be quick and take this 
cursed Jew'css u]K>ii the scaffold wddch 
is on the top of the walls!” 

As soon as he had commanded, a thou- 
sand hands wai'C ready to fulfill his or- 
der, and they took hold of Keturah and . 
carried her up to the scaffold, which 
could be see!) from the Jewish camp. 
Ifufus threw' an arrow' into the Jewisli 
camp around w'hich a small scroll w'as 
])asted containing this inscription in La- 
tin: “If the leader of this I'ebellion w'ill 
not immediately retreat from the city, 
his beloved Ketui’ah will be tortured 
and cut to pieces on this scaffold.” 

Hhimeon’s face became white like that 
of a cori)se when he read these w'ords; 
be lifted up liis eyes and saw Keturah 
standing on the scaffold with a face 


beaming like that of a bride on the day 
of her marriage, and she looked upon 
Shimeon wuth e^^es wdiich w'ere expres- 
sive of love and affection. Shimeon had 
no time to ffee from the terrible fear 
which possessed him, before the voice of 
Keturah rang out in angelic and 
divine tones: “My death wdll pave the 
w'ay to this city and fortress* I die wdth 
pleasure for my nation and country, for 
I fear that you w'ould give up the battle 
if I was offered to you as the price of 
peace — therefore I die. You live — live 
my beloved! in oi’der that you may re- 
vive the spirit of our people, and raise 
the walls of Jerusalem and the sanctu- 
ary from their ashes. Guide your flock 
with righteousness, justice, love and 
kindness. All the nations will assemble 
to the mountain of the Lord’s house and 
to the sanctuary of Jacob’s God; they 
wdll walk in Uis ways, the w'ays of life; 
they Avill follow His law’s, the law's oi‘ 
lighteousness; and they wdll all serv'c 
Mini with one accord and honor his cho- 
sen king whom he has annointed and ap- 
pointed over Zion, His holy mountain. 
Shimeon! messiah of the Lord! console 
my aged father. In thy hands, O God, 
do I commit my spirit.” 

So spoke Keturah, and threw' herself 
from the top of the scaffold to the 
ground, and before she had reached the 
bottom of the w all she was dead. 

Shimeon could not believe the sight of 
his eyes nor the hearing of his ears; he 
W’as like a man w'ho had been crazed and 
w'ho had lost his faculties; but when he 
convinced himself that she whom his 
heart desired and w'hom his soul loved 
was dead, his heart broke and his spirit 
({uivered; every moment a fierce hatred 
burned in his breast, and an un(|uencha- 
ble fire consumed his veins. He then 
lifted up his hands and swore by the 
Eternal that he would not allow' his eyes 
to sleej) nor his mind to i*est until he 
had avenged Ketmuh’s blood ui)on the 


N 


The Fall of BethxIR. 


:33 


Romans and upon their leader Rufus. 
In a moment he blew with a lar^e trump- 
et as a signal for the battle; the generals 
of his army likewise blew their trump- 
ets, making a fearful noise, and before 
the Romans had time to seize their arms, 
the Jews had stormed the wall with a 
rush like that of the surging waters on a 
stormy and tempestuous day, when they 
all climbed and mounted the wall. A 
terrible and tremendous battle was 
fought there. The Romans gathered 
their courage und strength, and fought 
like experienced soldiers for their lives 
and honor, whilst the Jews were pos- 
sessed with the strength of desperation, 
and fought for their religion and coun- 
try. Missiles flew from all sides with 
tlie rapidity- of lightning; stones were 
thrown from all directions with the ve- 
locity of thunder; bright swords glitter- 
ing like fire illumined the atmosphere; 
sharp spears and javelins rushed against 
each other with a noise like falling 
mountains; everywhere there was noise 
and confusion, storm, lightning and 
thunder, tempests, hurricanes and 
shocks; the earth trembled and quaked; 
the foundations of the heavens shook, and 
the sight was terrible. The slaughtered, 
covered with their blood, rolled down 
from the walls by thousands, whilst in 
the city there flowed rivers of blood 
from each army. Thus did the desper- 
ate soldiers fight from morning till mid- 
day, and it was not known which side 
was victorious, until finally the strength 
of the Romans had to give way before 
the desperation of Israel, who fought 
with a hate stronger than death, and 
with an anger more bitter than the grave. 
Shimeon Bar Cochba appeared then like 
an angel of destruction, sent by an angry 
God on a day of pestilence to destroy 
myriads of people, and his great and 
mighty sword was like the sword of a 
revengeful God, filled with blood, satiat- 
ed with the flesh of the Mighty, and 


covered with the gore of the brave. A 
wonderful and mighty spirit had also 
descended upon the other Jewish gen- 
erals, for Shimeon’s enthusiasm was 
contagious, and they had performed 
wonderful feats of bravery until they 
had almost annihilated all the mighty 
Roman soldiers. Still, the Romans 
would not flee from the sword, and they 
continued to fight until the day declined 
and the night began to spread; then— 
when the sun sent its last rays upon the 
city of Ciesarea, which was filled with the 
slaughtered and flowed with human 
blood and gore, — did the small rem- 
nant of the Roman army turn backwards 
wounded and dishonored, and enclosed 
themselves in the fortress which was 
within the destroyed city. 


IX. 

THE SAMARITAN AT HIS WORK. 

The valiant Shimeon, who had thus 
conquered the city of Caesarea, would not 
rest until he had brought the blade of 
his sword in the heart of Rufus, the mur- 
derer of Keturah. And though he well 
knew that there was no chance for the 
tiger to escape from the net, still he 
could not repose even for one night, 
and he had determined to attack the 
fortress wherein Rufus was enclosed and 
to destroy it that very night, in order 
that he might capture his enemy dead 
or alive, when suddenly the prophet 
Elijah appeared unto him and said: 
“Messiah of God! you have shown the 
greatness of your power and the mighti- 
ness of your hand in to-day’s battle, but 
the soldiers are now tired and exhausted, 
and if you will order them to continue 
the battle this night, they will be too 
weak to destroy the walls and fortifica- 
tions of that strong fortress, which, if it 
only contains a few brave men, can hold 
out for a long time. The few soldiers 
that are there will have a good opportu- 
nity to make many corpses in your army. 


34 


The Fall of Bethar. 


and wh}" should you allow thousands of 
Israel to be slaughtered in vain? God’s 
annointed! let me advise 3"Ou: let your 
army rest until midnight and thus re- 
cuperate their strength, and at the be- 
ginning of the first watch I will bring 
you and your army into the fortress 
without any fight, if you will only have 
ready the flower of your army by the 
cedar forest which is on the north side 
of the city by that time. There is an 
underground path which Herod the 
Great made in his wisdom; by the way 
of that path I will bring you and all your 
soldiers into the fortress. Listen to me 
and obey me, for I speak to you in. the 
name of the Lord of hosts.” 

Shimeon listened attentively to his 
words; but the man who was disguised 
as the prophet Elijah was in reality Pa- 
pus the Samaritan, who hated the Jews 
and abhorred the Romans, and who 
craftily planned and schemed the de- 
struction of thfe Romans by the Jews, 
and then the annihilation of the Jews by 
the Romans. 

Papus then went to the gates of the 
fortress and cried to the guard: “Open 
the gate, for I have particular business 
with Rufus.” One of the soldiers went 
and informed the general, who ordered 
the gate to be opened. Papus then told 
the general that he had been sent to Ru- 
fus by the governor of Syria, to let him 
know that he should hold the fortress 
for a few days, and that he, with his 
large army, would then come to his as- 
sistance. But Rufus would not permit 
theSamaritan to enterin his presence,be- 
cause he was angry at him for having 
advised Keturah’s retention, which was 
the direct cause of Shimeon’s violent 
])roceedings against him. The Samaritan 
therefore, entered, into the chamber 
where the soldiers reposed, with a smil- 
ing face and words of comfort and con- 
solation. “But with all this,” said Pa- 
pus to them, “I advise you not to sleep 


this night, lest you should suddenly be 
attacked by the Jewish king; for in this 
fortress there are no geese to awake you 
from 3^our sleep and to warn you of your 
danger, as once happened to j^our ances- 
tors who were suddenly attacked by bar- 
barians when they were enclosed in the 
capitol of Rome.” 

“ What have we to do with the as- 
sistance of geese?” replied Caius, who 
was the general of the army. “We will 
be saved by our powerful arm, and witli 
our right hand will we conquer ! We have 
nothing to do with geese, nor with any 
of the magical and cabalistic practices 
which the Jews use, as our priests tell 
us. The Jews must be sorcerers, 
enchanters and magicians, else their im- 
postor would never have been able to 
triumph over a terrible lion, and to con- 
quer in one day this large and fortified 
city. Though the Romans have often 
won such mighty victories, it is utterly 
impossible for any man who is not a Ro- 
man, and especially for a Jew, to do the 
like except by magic and sorcery. 

“Just because there is magic in Israel 
and witchcraft in Jacob, just for this 
reason you must not sleep this night- 
rejoined the Samaritan — for it is the 
destiny of the Roman heroes to be hum- 
bled and defeated by sorcerers and ma- 
gicians. Ilerrman of Germania fought 
with Farus,your General, and conquered 
him by sorcery, for without magic he 
could never have triumphed over that 
brave general and his large and mighty 
army in the forest of Tentoburg. The 
Hacins were also magicians, and it was 
by their witchcraft that they humbled 
Domitian Caesar in the battle-field, for 
Avithout the means of magic, they would 
not have the power or ability to triumph 
over such a learned and mighty emperor, 
and to leave him no other mode of es- 
cape than to purchase peace at their 
hands in return for a yearly tax.” 


The Fall of Bethar. 


35 


“You always joke about the Romans, 
replied Caius, and now you try to belittle 
our power, although you see every day 
that our might is wonderful. And noAV 
get away from here, for you are a deceit- 
ful man!” Whilst he was speaking, he 
took the key to open the gate,in order to 
show him the way out; but Papus began 
to laugh heartily when he saw that his 
jocular remarjis had roused Caius’ anger, 
so he said: ‘'Now I am ready to believe 
that the J ews have bewitched you with 
their magic so that you can not see the 
difference between friend and foe; but 
the fault is not yours, for the god of 
of wine has taken your wisdom from 
you because you have been untrue to 
him, and have neglected him for so many 
days. And now, mighty warrior, who has 
been accustomed to drink wine even 
when residing in that unfruitful land 
( lermania, shall you pine for wine in this 
plentiful land of Judah? No, no my lord! 
Look! and behold that I have taken the 
precaution to conceal in my coflPer the 
wines of Lebanon and white wine for 
you and your army, whicli will revive 
your drooping spirits.” 

The sight of that wane was sufficient 
to fill the soldiers wdth an unconquer- 
able desire tow^ards it, and they entreated 
their commander Caius to permit them 
to drink a little wine after their arduous 
and onerous labor during the whole day, 
that their strength might be restored for 
tomorrow’s battle. Caius granted their 
request, but he himself refused even to 
look at the tempting cup, so that he 
might closely watch the doings of the 
Samaritan. As soon as the soldiers 
scented the wine fumes, another spirit 
was with them, for it was as necessary 
to their lives as water is to a fish; every 
moment their spirits mounted higher and 
higher, they began to be merry, to laugh, 
to sing war songs, and to dance gleefully. 
Finally, Caius could restrain himself no 
longer from drinking the tempting bev- 


erage, and he also drank and became in- 
toxicated like his soldiers. The wine 
was drugged by Papus to intoxicate the 
soldiers and to deprive them of their 
senses. About midnight Caius fell upon 
the ground, overcome with th eintoxicat — 
ing power of his drink; the soldiers also 
fell one by one on the pavement, over- 
powered with a sleep strong as death. 
Papus then took the key from Cains’ 
hand and opened therewith the secret 
gate that lead to Herod’s underground 
path; he made his w'ay through the nar- 
row and intricate passages, and arrived 
at the second gate, wdiich w^as situated 
beyond the fortress in the cedar forrest, 
where Shimeon with the flower of his 
army patiently waited, as he had been 
commanded by the prophet Elijah in the 
name of God. Papus informed them 
as to the direction they should take in 
order to reach the fortress, and one by 
one they entered the cellar, passed 
its narrow and winding paths until they 
reached the second gate, w'hence they 
all ascended and entered the fortress. 
The soldiers guarding the gate had hard- 
ly time to draw their swords, when Is- 
rael’s soldiers destroyed them. The 
Romans who stood guard on the walls 
blew their trumpets in order to awaken 
those who w^ere in the fortress, and to 
apprise them of their danger. They 
shouted in a terrible voice: “We are be- 
trayed! We are betrayed!” and quickly 
descended the walls with the intention 
of entering the fortress, but the warriors 
of Judah stood firm and prevented them 
fi*om reaching that place of safety. The 
bewildered Romans attempted to fight, 
but suddenly they perceived pillars of 
smoke and vapor ascending from Rufus’ 
tent, for the Jews had set it on fire. Still 
they did not retreat, but fought des- 
perately, nor did they relinquish the 
struggle until they had all fallen by the 
sword and not one remained. The Jews 
blew their trumpets loudly, they shouted 


36 


The Fall of Bethar. 


lustil}", and with triumphant songs and 
music they placed J udah’s flag upon the 
fortress, the image of the young lion 
which, that flag bore, proudly displayed 
in the moonlight in the presence of the 
whole armj". But Shimeon would take 
no rest nor repose, for his strongest de- 
sire was to capture Rufus alive or dead, 
when he saw a human corpse filled with 
wounds and scorched with fire stretched 
before the door of the burning palace, 
which from the purple cloak covering it 
and from the royal insignia wdiich it bore, 
was immediately recognized to be that of 
Rufus. Next to this corpse lay that 
of a woman, enveloped in the garments of 
his wife Rufina, which was also scorched 
from the fire. All the Jews believed 
that Rufus and his wife were burned, so 
they lifted up their voices in songs of 
joy and delight; they sounded their cor- 
onets, they blew their trumpets, and the 
atmosphere was filled with their re- 
joicings. They were all intoxicated with 
joy; they acted as though they were in 
a dream, and in the visions of their im- 
agination, they saw that God had re- 
deemed his nation, that Jerusalem was 
rebuilt in all its former beauty and 
holiness, that Zion was reestablished in 
its former renown and splendor, and 
that the Sanctuary of Israel’s God was 
restored to the magnificence and solem- 
nity of the days of yore. With joy and 
gladness, with song and thanksgiving, 
with praise and gratitude to God, the 
Jews fell upon their knees; the voice of 
their rejoicings mounted to heaven and 
could be heard afar; till morning’s 
dawn they rejoiced and feasted, and 
since the time when Solomon built the 
temple, such gladness was not seen in 
Israel. 

X. 

RUFUS BEFORE ADRIAN. 

In a luxurious palace filled with gold, 
and whose beauty and magnificence was 


considered superb even in Rome, the 
capital of the world, the mighty Caesar 
Adrian sat reclined upon a couch which 
was covered with rare cloth from Da- 
mascus, and fringed with tassels of the 
finest gold and jewels, interwoven by the 
hands of skilled artists. A cloud rested 
upon the Caesar’s forehead and upon his 
brow dejection was inscribed, for a silent 
grief preyed upon his heart, and his mind 
was disturbed by thoughts which under- 
mined his strength. Sabina his beloved 
wife sat at his side contemplating him 
with an uneasy countenance but with 
closed lips. After the lapse of some time 
she said to him: “What ails you, 0 Cae- 
sar! that you are as mournful and gloomy 
as a'man whom fortune has left and whom 
the gods have forsaken? You are the most 
mighty and powerful king among all 
earthly potentates, the residents of the 
most distant lands tremble before you, 
and your mighty voice causes the ends 
of the world and the isles afar to quiver! 
And who is there among all the Roman 
Caesars ^vho ruled and swayed the for- 
tunes of as many mortals as you do?” 

“What do I care for all those things?” 
— answered the Caesai’ with a frowning 
countenance — “and what benefit do I de- 
rive from all these valuable things, as 
long as my most ardent desire to become 
a god is not gratified, and divine 
honors are denied me? I commanded 
the three wise men who always appear 
in my presence to salute me with divine 
honors and godly reverence, but they 
would not obey my command. Tire first 
one answered me: “That honor should 
only be given to Him who formed and 
created the heavens, to Him who made 
the earth with all its productions, who 
has given breath to the people which are 
upon it and life to its inhabitants; but to 
you 0 Caesar! belongs only the honor 
and respect due to a mighty and power- 
ful king, to a wise and learned Caesar.” 
The second replied: “It is true that you 


The Fall of Bethar. 


o7 


have the power to make your authority 
acknowledged throughout the earth, you 
have the might to rule all the nations 
throughout the globe, and there is no 
man under all the heavens whom I honor 
and respect as much as I do you; but I 
can only give divine worship to the 
God of heaven and earth, who rules every 
motion of the heart and controls every 
idea and reflection of the mind.’’ The 
third one fell on the ground before me 
and exclaimed with tears in his eyes: 
“Help me, 0 my king and master! All 
my wealth and possessions are now in a 
ship in the midst of the sea, 
and the sea is now threatened by storms, 
tempests and hurricanes, and it is bound 
to sink.” ‘T pray you, be calm — I an- 
swered him — and I will send a 
strong and fleet vessel to save your ship.’’ 
But he rejoined: “Alas, my king! Before 
this cau be done my ship will sink like 
lead to the bottomless deep, — but gra- 
cious be and command the sea to become 
quiet and the tempestous storm to 
cease.” “This is impossible for me to 
accomplish,” I replied: “I have not the 
power to do that.” “If that is the case,” 
said the wise man, “if you really have 
not the power to control the waters and 
the winds, then how can you compare 
yourself to God to whom the sea belongs 
and who made it, who silences the temp- 
est, who rules the universe by his might, 
and who is obeyed by all the hosts of 
heaven and earth.” Thus did the three 
wise men speak to me, for they have 
learned from the Jews to worship only 
one God, a spiritual divinity whom no 
man can see and live, and who is above 
all human understanding and compre- 
hension. In my anger, I went to the 
senate and informed them that it was 
my most earnest desire to be honored as 
one of the gods, but at the same moment 
a hasty messenger arrived, bringing the 
news that the Jews had rebelled against 
me and had slaughtered my soldiers in 


Judeah, Zipori and Alexandria, and that 
if I would not quickly send new soldiers 
to assist the general in command of the 
troops in Caesarea, then all his soldiers 
with all the fortified fortresses would 
fall into the hands of the Jews. This 
unfortunate accident obstructed the way 
towards the fulfillment of my 
wishes; for I became wrathful, the sena- 
tors also became so vexed, that their 
minds were not prepared to pay any at- 
tention to my request.” 

Sabina meditated for a few moments, 
and then answered: “0 Caesar! be not 
downhearted, what need have you to ask 
such favors from mortals? What do you 
want with the profound philosophers, or 
the senatorial dignitaries, who say one 
thing and mean another, or even with 
immoral and fiattering priests? Did not 
Jupiter entrust you with a precious 
treasure? Beturn it to him and you will 
become like the gods.” 

“What is that treasure?” inquired 
Ilufus anxiously. 

“It is the soul!” replied Sabina. 

“The soul?” asked Caesar, “how can I 
live if I return my soul to him?” 

“If this is the case!” — answered Sabi, 
na, “then you are like any other man,and 
by what right can you require people to 
worship you as god? I pray you, listen 
to me, Caesar! If you will reign over 
your people in righteousness and justice 
like a good man, you will have plenty of 
honor, glory, love and respect; your good- 
ness will be admired and your virtues 
will be extolled in all lands. What did 
the ignorant arrogant Caligula gain, and 
what benefit was it to the cruel tyrant 
Domitian,that they set themselves up as 
gods and ordered sacrifices and incense 
‘ to be offered to their names in every 
place? To-day, their names are dishon- 
ored and disgraced, and in all future 
generations their memory will be hated 
and cursed! You should avoid their 
foolish example and follow in the foot- 


38 


The Fall of Beth ah. 


steps of the virtuous emperor Trajan, 
do deeds of righteousness like him; sup- 
port truth, shelter justice and equity, 
and help the persecuted and down -trod- 
den like that great emperor did; your 
name will then be eternally blessed by 
all nations, and your memory will be 
sacred to the heart of humanity; thou- 
sands of bards will sing your praises in 
every generation, and the splendor of 
your majesty will be perpetuated for- 
ever.” 

Adrian was wrath because Sabina ad- 
vised him to imitate Trajan, and he re- 
plied in his anger: “I will do as you say 
and follow the example set by Trajan; 
T will strictly fulfill the commands 
which he had issued regarding the Jews, 
for the Jews are the cause that divine 
honors are withheld from me. They teach 
that there exists only one God in heaven 
and on earth, and there is none beside 
Ifim, and it is from them that the Koman 
philosophers learned that doctrine; 
therefore, will I revenge myself on 
them.” 

He had hardly finished his words, when 
one of the lords announced, that Bufus, 
the governor of Judah, stands behind 
the door and is very anxious to appear 
before the emperor and to speak with him 
privately. “Let him enter!” answered 
the Caesar angrily, for he was not in the 
best of humor. 

lliifus entered the chamber and 
kneeled before the emperor. 

“What do you want?” asked Adrian 
after the lapse of a few moments, during 
which he had not even condescended to 
look at Rufus. 

“Alas, king of kings!” answered Rufus 
in fear and trembling, ”all your army were 
slaughtered by the swoi-d of the Jews,* 
and only I and Rufina have escaped from 
death!” 

Adrian roared with anger and ran for- 
ward and backward like a wild lion 
wounded by an arrow; he shouted at 


Rufus in wrathful indignation: “And 
you, — you still dare to appear in my 
presence! You fanatical zealot, you 
trod upon the Jews as upon dust and 
persecuted them so cruelly that they 
w^ere forced to resort to the sword! If 
you had obeyed my commands and 
gained their good will and love, the 
blood of my bravest soldiers would not 
now have been shed in vain.” 

“I know my fate,” said Rufus mourn- 
fully, “I know thatl willbe executed,and 
the only reason why I did not take my 
own life is because I desire to revenge 
myself on the Jews.” 

“Ho you really believe, you coward,” 
exclaimed the emperor, “do you really 
believe that I will again put new soldiers 
under your command in order that you 
may lead them also to slaughter? The 
flock which I have entrusted to your 
care you have brought down to the grave, 
therefore, go you also to bite the dust.” 

“I,” said Rufus with a trembling 
heart,— “ I and Rufina escaped through 
the help of a • perfume-vender, who 
brought Jewish garments for both of us 
and concealed us in his tent till the 
battle was over, and then brought us to 
a ship which sailed for Italy. Ho you 
imagine that I would have come here 
only for the purpose of being decapitat- 
ed. if I had not hoped to find here an 
outlet for my vengeance? — Alas! a con- 
temptible nation like the Jews, have 
taken from me honor and fame, and 1 
shall die before my foot has been plunged 
in the blood of that cursed nation? — It 
is for this reason that I pray at your 
majesty’s feet to restore me to the land 
of Judah and to reinstate me in my 
position till those rebels are punished. — 
And you, 0 king of kings! if you wil^ 
punish them mercifully, you will never 
have any rest and they will continue to 
raise their hands against your sacred 
throne, for they area rebellious,wild and 
barbarous nation, and a hard necked and 


Teie Fall of Betiiar. 


30 


hard headed race. But if* you will lift 
up against them an avenging sword, 
punish them with wrath and cruelty, 
and not sheath your sword until it has 
been colored with the blood of those 
who hate our God and king; then the 
nations will fear you, mighty people will 
tremble before you, and all the inhabi- 
tants of the world will extoll your power, 
will worship you as one of the mighty 
gods. Your achievments will be recorded 
as those of the immortals, and all the 
world will testify that there has never 
been a king who like you was merciful 
and gracious to those who served him 
faithfully, and punished severely all ac- 
cursed transgressors who rebelled against 
him.” 

Adrian’s countenance became a little 
more pleasant upon learing those words. 
He winked with his eyes as a sign that 
liufus’ word had gained ingress into his 
heart, and said: “We will investigate 
whether your words are true.” He then 
motioned, anS Rufus withdrew from his 
presence. 

In those days there was a profound 
hatred against the elews on account of 
their religious belief, and this was the 
cause: The Romans had always been en- 
gaged in great wars and never took the 
time or trouble to investigate religious 
beliefs or theological matters, but imi- 
tated the Athenians and Spartans in 
their idolatry as they did in all their 
arts and sciences. But after Adrian 
had restored perfect peace throughout 
the land, and the Romans began to live 
quietly and calmly, surrounded by afflu- 
ence, pleasure and luxury, their in- 
telligence began gradually to awaken, 
and their minds began to inquire into 
religious matters, and they began to com- 
pare the diverse creeds and religious 
which prevailed in different parts of the 
globe. They then discovered that the 
Mosaic creed inculcated simple but 
sublime lessons; it opened the heavens 


and showed One Almighty Being who 
rules the universe by His power, a God 
who can not be seen by the eyes of flesh, 
but who reveals himself in the spirit; a 
God who is great and exalted beyond all 
comprehension. According to tradition, * 
there were even many Roman aristocrats 
of high standing in Adrian’s palace, who 
in the privacy of their houses obeyed 
the law of Moses and observed its com- 
mands. There were also at that time 
many Romans who had joined the Naz- 
arene religion, which is founded mainly 
upon the principles of the Mosaic law, 
and at that time,theNazarenes were look- 
ed upon as simply one of the numerous 
Jewish sects. In short, the religion of 
the Jews was an eyesore to the idola- 
trous creeds which were then the pre- 
vailing religion of the country. The idols 
of the gentiles trembled in its holy and 
sublime presence, the priests were un- 
easy lest their occupation be gone when 
this true religion is revealed before the 
eyes of all nations, and also the proud 
and arrogant kings who had proclaimed, 
“We are Gods,” and had commanded: 
temples and altars to be built in 
their honor, those kings were vexed and 
angry with the Jews because of their 
doctrines which prevented the fulfill- 
ment of their desires. It was for this 
reason that Rufus found the emperor 
willing to listen to the false words which 
he spoke about the Jews, and Adrian, 
who hated the J ews because it was their 
religion which prevented the Romans 
from hailing him as god, decreed that all 
the wicked and terrible laws, which Tra- 
jan had enacted against the Jews in his 
anger, should be renewed, though Trajan 
himself had abolished them. Even 
those laws were not quite good enough 
for Adrian, so he added a few more cruel 
edicts and tyrannical laws to this effect: 
The city of J erusalem shall be destroyed 
and not a vestige shall be left, and upon 
its ruins there shall be built a new city 


40 


The Fall of Betiiah. 


which shall be called Aelia Capitaliiia, 
according to the name of his temple. 
The image of a hog — abominable to the 
Jews, — shall be placed upon the gate of 
that city, and on the side where the tem- 
ple stood, there shall be built a sanctu- 
ary to the god Jupiter and his image 
shall be placed therein. Upon all the 
Jews, he decreed destruction and exter- 
mination; their leaders, sages, and 
scribes shall be slain by the sword with- 
out any exception, their young men and 
common people shall be sold as slaves 
in distant lands; their wives and children 
shall be plunder for the soldiers, and all 
their property shall be confiscated to the 
Boman treasury. Those who would es- 
cape the sword and still remain in the 
country of Judah would either have to 
forsake their religion and adopt the 
Boman superstition, or be doomed to 
death. In order to execute all his in- 
tentions regarding them, he sent to the 
Isle of Britannia for the great general 
Julius Severus who had slaughtered 
more people and destroyed more cities 
than any living man; he placed under 
his command all the soldiers of Syria, 
Armenia, and Mesopotamia, as w^ell as 
all the soldiers who had returned from 
the war with the Parthians, who had 
then concluded a peace with theBomans. 
'file emperor sent his mighty general 
with an immense army to punish the 
nation which he hated, — the Jews. Bufus 
w^as also sent with this destroying host 
in order to add oil to the flame of hatred 
wdiich the army bore against the Jews. 
Adrian commanded Julius Severus to 
retain Bufus in his position as long as 
he could assist him in exterminatina: the 
liouse of Judah from existence, but that 
as soon as he had taken full revenge up- 
(m the Jews he should have Bufus 
killed. 


XI. 

THE CAPTURE OF .JERUSALEAl. 

It was more than sixty years since 
the ruined city of Jerusalem had heard 


the blast of war, during that time she 
had not seen a flaming sword nor a pol- 
ished javelin; in her avenues the silence 
of death reigned, and in her streets the 
quiet of the grave prevailed. When all 
at once she was overran by warriors with 
the impetuosity of mighty waters, her 
deserted streets were filled with a num- 
erous and powerful army ;it was the army 
of mighty Borne, composed of cavalry 
and infantry. The infantry carried 
double edged swords in their hands, their 
loins were girded wdth belts containing 
arrows and deadly missiles, on their 
heads they wore copper helmets, their 
feet were protected by a copper shield, 
and on their shoulder they carried jave- 
lins. 

The cavalry rode on magnificent horses 
imported from Arabia and Egypt. With 
pride and anger thej^ trod the earth, 
their rejoicing was mighty and loud, 
mountains trembled at their voices, and 
the sight of them was sufficient to make 
the bravest fear. This 1:crrible army 
was sent by the governor of Syria after 
he had been defeated by the Jews upon 
the field of battle, to capture the city of 
Jerusalem and to guard its walls and 
gates, so that the Jews might not gain 
possession of it and rebuilt their temple. 
The Bomans rebuilt the fortress on 
Mount Zion, raised high towers upon 
the walls of Jerusalem, fortified it 
strongly, locked its gates and prepared 
for battle. 

Night spread its wings over Judah’s 
mountains, and the silvery lustre of the 
moon passing triumphantly through the 
clouds illumined the atmosphere; no 
voice or sound could be heard in the 
streets, nor could any light be seen in 
the houses. The silence prevailing in 
the city was only disturbed from time to 
time by the voice of the guards; the 
phosphorescent vapor ascending from 
the Salt Sea occasionally clouded the 
moonlight on that beautiful night. 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


41 


In a moment this silence was broken, 
the sound of martial music could be 
heard around the walls of Jerusalem, 
there could be seen a mighty army with 
many and powerful horses, all of them 
well armed and equipped. The guards 
who stood watch on the towers blew 
their cornets and shouted: “The Jews ! 
The Jews !” The Romans awoke quickly, 
armed themselves and mounted the 
walls whence they saw Shimeon Bar 
Cochba with many thousands of Jews 
moving upon the city. The J ews had 
come from the desert of Theman, from 
the west of Arabia, from Gaul, from 
Africa and from all the other lands 
where they had been banished, in order 
to fight under Shimeon’s flag. “Stand 
still!” commanded Bar Cochba, and in 
one moment the immense army stood as 
firm as a wall, none moved a hand or 
winked an eye, and profound silence 
reigned everywhere, even the Romans 
on the top of the walls were still for the 
moment. Suddenly the lion on which 
Shimeon rode sprang up with a fright- 
ful yell, all the horses neighed, and the 
noise was terrible; but as soon as Shim- 
eon hit the lion’s jaw with his fist he be- 
came silent and quiet was restored. The 
eyes of the Romans were turned upon 
Shimeon Bar Cochba, who proudly rode 
on a terrible lion decked with gold and 
precious stones and shining brilliantly 
in the moonlight. The Jewish army 
listened attentively to his exhortation 
when he said: “My brethren and my 
people! Our feet now stand upon the 
place where God revealed His omnipo- 
tence to Sancherib the king of Ashur, 
and where He showed His tremendous 
power and the might of His arm by send- 
ing from heaven stones and meteors to 
destroy a hundred and eighty-five idola- 
ters! That same mighty God will also 
in His vengeance stretch out His holy 
arm, and destroy all the Romans who 
fight against His heritage; His anger 


will pursue them and they will be rout- 
ed! Be brave now, ye soldiers of Jeho- 
vah! Be men and fear nothing!” After 
he had spoken these short but eloquent 
words, he let an arrow fly from his bow 
and said: “God will be victorious against 
the Romans, and the Romans will be de- 
feated and annihilated ! !” He then blew 
his cornet as a signal for the battle to 
begin, all his generals did the same, all 
the soldiers gave a loud and tremendous 
cheer, and they immediately began to 
scale the walls of the city. 

The Romans who did not believe and 
could not imagine, that the Jews would 
try to capture the walls of the fortified 
city, without reposing after their long 
march and without making any prepar- 
ations for the battle, were greatly aston- 
ished and their thoughts stood still, and 
before they had time to consider their 
future conduct, Shimeon with some 
picked soldiers was standing on the top 
of the wall, and with their swords they 
made havoc among the enemies by whom 
they were surrounded. 

Upon that wall there was fought a 
great and terrible battle, the like of 
which had not been seen since the days 
of Titus. — Shimeon followed by a 
thousand braves jumped from the wall 
into the city, with their swords they 
made a path for themselves, and they 
walked over thousands of corpses until 
they reached the gate, when they re- 
moved the posts, destroyed the bolts, and 
opened the gate, through which all the 
Jewish soldiers immediately passed into 
the city. 

When the morning had begun to dawn 
the only remaining Roman soldiers were 
those who had escaped from the field of 
battle or those who were taken by the 
Jews as prisoners. 

The J ews were again masters of the 
holy city. 


42 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


XII. 

THE RESURRECTION OF JERUSALEM AND 

RABBI AKIBA’s SPIRITUAL MISSION. 

In the streets of Jerusalem could be 
heard songs of joy and victory. People 
came from all the four corners of the 
earth to surround and fortify this holy 
city with new walls as in former times, 
to rebuild David’s fortress, to restore its 
towers and defences as in days of yore, 
and above all to build therein a great and 
holy sanctuary, in honor of the Lord of 
hosts. Songs of joy and devotional 
psalms were chanted in all corners of 
the city; in the avenues and streets 
there was nothing but music and song, 
and the holy city was filled with joy 
and glee. All hands were at work mov- 
ing stones, cedar and mahogany wood, 
plaster and lime, copper and iron, silver 
and gold, and all the other diiferent 
things, which were necessary to the 
construction of the sanctuary. Old and 
young, boys and girls, and all the differ- 
ent classes and degrees of people vied 
with each other in the performance of 
this holy labor. The eyes of all were 
anxiously waiting for Shimeon Bar 
Cochba, their messiah, to appear and to 
lay the corner-stone of God Almighty’s 
sanctuary. The priests were glad, and 
rejoiced because the high-priest, who 
would conduct the services in the tem- 
ple, and who would be the spiritual lea- 
der of the nation, would be chosen from 
their midst. The levites filled the at- 
mosphere with song, because they would 
in a short time again begin to sing Zion’s 
songs, with cornets, violins, and all the 
other musical instruments which had 
been formerly in use. The sages and 
scribes were glad, because they would 
now sit in the courts and administer 
laws to the people of Israel. All the 
nation triumphed because God had re- 
stored Jacob, and had again chosen him 
to abide in Jerusalem. 


At the bottom of mount Zion sat 
Rabbi Akiba, with gladness in his heart 
and joy on his countenance, surrounded 
by numerous people, who, on account of 
their age or feebleness of body, were 
unable to engage in manual labor ; they 
sat and . listened to the words of the 
pious sage. He was reciting to them the 
history of the first temple in the follow- 
ing words : ‘‘You should know, 1113^ dear 
brethren, that this mountain of Moriah 
has been great and famous from time 
immemorial, for at its feet lies the beau- 
tiful and holy city of Jerusalem. This 
is the mountain that was chosen from 
all the hills of Judah, and sanctified 
above all the holy places in Jerusalem. 
This is the mountain from whose dust 
the Creator of the universe formed the 
first man*, and it is the rock from which 
the human family proceeds. Upon the 
summit of this mountain, Adam erected 
the first altar to Jehovah, and sacrificed 
thereon the finest of oxen ; it is also 
here where Cain and Abel brought their 
offerings to God. This is the mountain 
upon which Abraham offered his son 
Isaac, and upon which God revealed 
himself to the patriarch Jacob. But 
the sacredness of this mountain, and its 
important history, — which is the reason 
why God chose to have his glory dwell 
thereon forever — was secreted and hid- 
den from all nations inhabiting this 
globe, yea, even from the children of 
Israel ; its value was only hinted at by 
God to his servant, Moses, in Numbers 
and Deuteronomy. For if the idolators 
would have known it, they would have 
destroyed the mountain; and if Israel’s 
tribes would have been aware of it, they 
would have fought with each other for 
its possession. It was only after David’s 
death, when all tribes dwelled in peace 
and repose, and each of them was set- 
tled upon the land whieh had been 

*A11 the legends brouj»ht forward here are 
found in the Talmud and Midrash. 


The Fall of Bethar. 


43 


alloted to him as his heritage, then only 
didGod command that a sanctuary should 
he built for him on this mountain, and 
that a temple should be erected to his 
eternal name. At God’s command, 
Solomon, the son of David, erected a 
great and glorious sanctuary on the 
summit of this mountain. That king, 
who was mightier and wiser than any 
living man, requested the king of Egypt 
to send him learned mechanics to build 
the temple, but Pharoh sent him men 
who appeared to be strong and healthy? 
but who were afflicted with a disease, 
which must bring about an early death, 
and who were not strong enough to re- 
main in the realms of life long enough 
to finish the construction of an immense 
building. Solomon in his great wisdom 
immediately understood the trick of the 
Egyptian king, whose desire it was to 
fill his treasury with gold, and to give 
corpses in return. So he clothed those 
men in grave - clothes and sent them 
back to their master, commanding them 
to tell him these words: “Is it because 
there are no graves in Egypt, that you 
send your servants to find graves in 
Palestine?” 

King Solomon then directed his at- 
tention to his neighbor, the king of Tyre, 
a wise and mighty potentate and an old 
friend of his father David ; he was hap- 
py to grant Solomon’s request, and sent 
him this message ; “ I have considered 
the things which you sent to me for, 
and I will fulfill all your desires concern- 
ing timber of cedar, and concerning tim- 
ber of fir.” Solomon gave Hiram in re- 
turn twenty thousand measures of wheat 
as food for his household, and twenty 
measures of pure oil ; this Solomon 
gave year by year. From the mountain 
of Lebanon the Tyrians brought down 
immense cedar trees, and the servants 
of Hiram, together with those of Solo- 
mon, brought stones to lay the founda- 
tion of the house. The worm Shamir, 


which looks like a grain of corn, and 
which was created from the beginning of 
the world with the wonderful power of 
cutting stones by its touch was the 
worm by which Moses inscribed the 
names of the tribes upon the breastplate 
and ephod worn by the high priest. 
This wonderful worm disappeared after 
the time of Moses, nor could it be found 
until the time of Solomon. You have 
undoubtedly often heard from our wise 
men and scribes, the great trouble to 
which Solomon had to go before he could 
obtain that worm, in order to engrave 
therewith the various inscriptions upon 
the sacred stones. 

The great and hewn stones were 
brought in wagons to Mount Moriah, 
and the cedar wood was transported from 
Lebanon by the way of the sea of Java, 
whence it was taken to its appropri- 
ate position. The servants of Hiram 
were clever workers in wood and 
stone, and were the first architects in 
the world; thirty thousand men of Is- 
rael assisted them in their work on 
Mount Lebanon, ten thousand a month, 
by turns. Solomon had seventy thou- 
sand men who bore burdens, and eighty 
thousand hewers in the mountains, be- 
sides his superintendents to the amount 
of three thousand and three hundred ; 
and all this immense number of people 
labored for the construction of God’s 
sanctuary in faithfulness, with a true 
heart and with a willing soul. There 
was no end to the treasures of silver and 
gold, precious stones and valuable orna- 
ments which Solomon gathered from all 
parts of the world, for the construction 
of that great and holy temple which was 
finished in seven years. Besides, king 
David had consecrated all the spoils he 
had taken from the nations in his nu- 
merous wars, to the house of God. There 
were to be found all kinds of gold, silver, 
copper, iron, and valuable stones; Solo- 
mon offered also pure gold, solid silver. 


44 


The Fall of Bethar. 


and precious stones from his private 
treasures, besides the numerous liberal 
offerings and presents which were con- 
tributed by the Jewish nation. The 
precious, rare and valuable materials 
w^hich Solomon collected for the sanctu- 
ary, superseded in quality and quantity 
the combined treasures of Persia, Rome 
and Greece. We cannot but be struck 
with wonder and astonishment wdien we 
picture to ourselves the magnificence 
and beauty, the holy splendor, and the 
solemn appearance of that sanctuary, 
and we are forced to believe that such a 
beautiful combination could only have 
been produced through the agency of 
heavenly angels. 

The second temple was also magnifi- 
cent, and its beauty was unrivaled 
throughout the world ! I saw it in the 
days of my childhood. Its holy image 
still stands before my eyes, and my heart 
is consumed with the burning desire to 
see also the completion of the third 
temple. May the Almighty assist us in 
its construction and completion, may 
He sanctify it and watch over it from 
now to evermore. Then I will die in 
pleasure. My nation and brethren, you 
should know that the glory of this last 
house will be greater than that of the 
two former temples. Here true peace 
will prevail, the name of the Lord 
of hosts will constantly be praised 
in it, and all nations will flock to- 
wards it to worship and adore Israel’s 
God who is one, eternal, and true. I 
never ceased to hope that God would 
send a messiah and liberator in my days, 
who would rebuild the cities of J udal^ 
and re-establish his sanctuary; this hope 
sustained me in the days of my suffer- 
ings, trials, and afflictions; it illumined 
my soul and cheered my mind in the 
days of my sorrows and darkness. 
Years ago, I went from the city of Yabna 
to pray on the holy mountain, and with 
me were Raban Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer 


ben Azariah, and Rabbi Jeshua. On the 
road we heard some Romans singing 
songs of triumph and joy. The hearts 
of those sages were wounded and they 
wept bitterly, but I heartily laughed. 
Those sages were very angry at me and 
they said : 

“ How can you laugh when you hear 
the songs of our enemies and the de- 
stroyers of our land, when you see that 
they are rejoicing and happy, whilst we 
are disgraced and dishonored in their 
eyes, persecuted and oppressed by the 
power of their hands, and ground into 
dust under their feet ?” 

But I replied in these words : 

The very same thing that makes you 
weep makes me laugh, for if God is so 
merciful to those who transgress His 
will, then who can imagine the happi- 
ness which He has reserved for those 
who honor and fear Him, who cling to 
Him with all their hearts and souls, and 
who pass through fire and water in order 
to glorify His holy name !” 

When we came to the place where the 
holy-of-holies used to stand, we saw a 
fox issuing from its ruins; then did the 
sages again begin to shed bitter tears ; 
but I again laughed heartily, when the 
Rabbins angrily said to me : 

“ How dare you lift up your voice in 
laughter when you behold the ruins of 
our sanctuary, and see foxes promenad- 
ing in the place where the holy-of-ho- 
lies stood ? Alas ! that we behold with 
our eyes what the prophet Jeremiah saw 
when he said : ‘ For this our own heart 
faint, for these things are our eyes dim ; 
because of the mountain of Zion, which 
is desolate; the foxes walk upon it.’ ” 

But I answered them : “This is the 
very reason why I laugh ! For if God 
has brought upon us all the evil he fore- 
told, then will he also fulfill all the 
blessings that he promised us through 
the prophets ; he will send us endless 
peace and prosperity, he will rebuild the 


The Fall of Bethar. 


45 


cities of Judah, he will re-establish his 
sanctuary as in former days, and will re- 
store^his nation to happiness and joy !” 
And now has this time of consolation 
arrived, the sun of happiness has dawn- 
ed, the days of our suffering have de- 
parted ! Therefore, come, let us praise 
Grod, let us sing of His greatness, let us 
proclaim His goodness, for He has grant- 
ed our prayers as can be seen on this 
day. 

When the learned sage had spoken 
these words, the entire assembly cheered 
lustily, and the cornets blew loudly and 
joyfully. Suddenly the voice of myriads 
was heard, the sound of horns and trump- 
ets was deafening, and an immense and 
mighty throng slowly ascended to the 
summit of mount Moriah. In their 
midst was Shimeon Bar Cochba. On 
the mountain’s top he was met by the 
lords of the nation, and by beautiful 
damsels, who danced and sang before 
him. He then laid the corner-stone of 
the new sanctuary, amid the joyful ex- 
clamations of thousands of Israel. The 
priests then poured consecrated oil upon 
Shimeon’s head, and crowned it with the 
regal crown; the entire congregation of 
Israel responded unanimously: “ I\Iay 
the king live ! May the king messiah 
live forever.’' 

XIII. 

THE BATTLE-CRY AGAIN. 

The altar and the porch of the sanctu- 
ary shed their lustre on the rebuilt city 
of Jerusalem. The tops of some of the 
apartments were already pointing heav- 
enward, and in a short time the temple 
with all its apartments, posts and porch- 
es, would be finished in accordance with 
the patterns Ezekiel had seen in his 
vision. The priests again performed 
their functions as in former days; the 
Levites were again appointed to their 
respective posts. Some played the violin, 
others handled the harp and the psaltery, 
some called the people to worship with 


brass cornets, and all of them were di- 
rected and superintended by the musical 
director. The holy city was filled with 
joy and gladness; song and mirth pre- 
vailed in the tent of Zion’s daughters, 
in the avenues and streets resounded an- 
thems of praise and thanksgiving, and 
such great rejoicing had not been seen 
in Israel since the day when the first 
temple was instituted by Solomon, the 
son of David. When suddenly, a quiet 
murmur proceeded among the workmen, 
the priests were struck with astonish- 
ment, the Levites trembled, and all the 
people gazed wonderingly at each other, 
with faces on which consternation was 
inscribed. The sounds of the trump- 
ets and the music of the cornets became 
silent in a moment, the Levitical psalms 
and songs were no more heard. Papus, 
the Samaritan, walked silently, and with 
a face as expressive of evil as that of a 
destroying spirit. He informed the 
whole congregation of Israel of some 
terrible news. The echo of his words 
was sufficient to melt every heart, 
to weaken every hand, and to make every 
knee tremble. He told them, that many 
and mighty soldiers had come from Borne 
and were making their way through the 
land of Judah, having already reached 
the port of Csesarea; they were com- 
manded by the blood-thirsty and experi- 
enced General Julius Severus, and Ilu- 
fus — who was supposed to be dead — was 
one of the captains of the trained army. 
All the cities through which this re- 
venging host had passed were burned, 
their inhabitants were slain by the sword, 
and their fields and houses were destroy- 
ed. The J ews, frightened by this sud- 
den and terrible news, looked toward 
the sea shore, whence they saw dust and 
smoke ascending heavenward. For a few 
moments they were dumbfounded, 
and stood as marble pillars; but they 
soon awoke from their consternation, and 
unanimously exclaimed in a voice loud 


46 


The Fall of Bethar. 


and tremendous, in a voice that ascended 
the heavens and made the earth tremble: 
“ TO WAR ! ! ! ” In a moment the.y had 
girded their swords, armed themselves, 
and left Jerusalem and the temple. 
That city, which had swarmed with peo- 
ple a few minutes ago, which was filled 
with joy and music, vJiich contained a 
throng as innumerable as the sand on 
the sea shore and the stars in heaven, — 
that city became again desolate, for- 
saken, and mournful as it had been be- 
fore. 


•XIY. 

The holy city of Jerusalem was again 
taken by the enemy, the sanctuary which 
the Jews had nearly completed, was 
again destroyed by the Eomans, the 
priests and Levites were butchered, the 
soldiers either fell by the sword, escaped 
to all the four corners of the world, or 
were taken prisoners by the enemy, 
whilst Shimeon Bar Cochba with the 
flower of his army, escaped to the forti- 
fication of Bethar. All the fortified 
cities and fortresses which the J ews had 
captured, were again taken by the Ro- 
mans, and the whole land of Judah was 
compelled to return to subjection. The 
Jews who escaped the sword were cruelly 
beaten, if they even dared to mourn 
and weep for the loss of country and 
property. Only the great and fortified 
city of Bethar, which contained thou- 
sands of Jews, that city alone was not 
conquered by the Romans, because its 
residents were not at war with each 
other; peace existed between them, and 
one man helped the other. This was the 
reason why the enemy could not capture 
it, even at the time when Titus destroy- 
ed in his anger all the fortresses of Ju- 
dah; and now the inhabitants were unit- 
ed and prepared to fight with the Ro- 
mans for their stronghold, and for the 
last vestige of independence which they 
yet retained in the land. All the resi- 


dents of that city had full confidence in 
Shimeon Bar Cochba, who was their 
leader and commander. Shimeon him- 
self was made miserable by his mournful 
thoughts and reflections, for whenever 
he remembered that Keturah the be- 
loved of his heart and soul, had departed 
from the land of the living, his brave 
spirit was overwhelmed with pain and 
anger ; his grief was boundless when he 
reflected that Rufus escaped from death 
in an unaccountable manner, and that 
the oath of vengeance which he had 
sworn against him had not yet been re- 
deemed. 

“ What benefit do I receive from my 
regal crown ?” exclaimed Shimeon, with 
a broken heart, “ and what good does it 
do me if thousands of men crouch and 
kneel at my feet ? I have undertaken 
to be the liberator of my nation, whilst 
I cannot even help myself, nor have I 
the power to liberate my soul from its 
sorrow. Alas ! all the regal honors and 
pleasures in the world can not recom- 
pense me for the great misfortune that 
came over me ; but there is no use in 
crying like a child, or in wailing like a 
woman. No! it is the desire of my heart 
to perform great deeds, to distinguish 
myself as a mighty warrior, and to make 
my power known and felt by those who 
have deprived me of happiness. Many 
a time have I extended my arm and 
felled Romans by my mighty sword, like 
corn under the sickle of the harvestman; 
they have received chastisements which 
they will never forget, they suffered the 
humiliation of defeat and retreat. Cour- 
age and bravery have not yet deserted 
the Jewish heart; when the children of 
Jacob fight for their religion and coun- 
try, they become like enraged lions 
charging against thieves who would de- 
prive them of their whelps; they follow 
their enemies and pursue them, nor do 
they retreat until they have destroyed 
them or fallen in the contest. But alas! 


The Fall of Betitar. 


47 


the heart of the nation is divided, they 
differ in their religious belief ; from time 
immemorial, unjust hatred toward each 
other dAvells in their breasts, and there 
exists among them an antipathy as silent 
and as destructive as the pestilence, 
which blunts their swords and takes the 
edge from their arrows. Of what avail is 
victory purchased by blood, if the ad- 
vantage gained by it has no lasting value, 
. and leads to no benefit ? Why would 
not my nation follow my advice and for- 
tify the ruined fortress of Caesarea, in 
order to guard the entrances from the 
sea,and to prevent the enemy from reach- 
ing the land ? And by what means did 
Bufus escape from death if he had not 
been assisted by some traitor ? It is 
true that Severus, who has been defeated 
by me for the tenth time, will not 
dare to attack me whilst I remain in this 
fortified city, for he is afraid of my pow- 
erful arrows and deadly missiles ; but 
neither dare I leave the city and fight 
him in the open field, because I have not 
full confidence in my own nation ; 
and though I am positive that I have 
the power to defeat the strong enemy in 
the field, it is impossible for me or any 
one else to withstand an enemy who dis- 
guises himself as a friend ! The dis- 
guised traitor is like a moth in a gar- 
ment, consuming it silently, without a 
threatening sound or a warning whisper; 
he is like a robber watching in the dark, 
of whom no man knows -until he falls 
into his clutches. Alas ! that the days 
of miracles are no more, and the prophet 
Elijah does not reveal himself to me. 
Oh! may God grant that all the Jews 
unite together, for Borne would then 
again tremble before Jerusalem !” 

He was yet sitting with his mind 
plunged in these mournful reflections, 
when the door opened, and the prophet 
Elijah stood by his side, and spoke 
these words in a solemn voice : 


“ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the 
God of Israel, He who dwelleth between 
the Cherubim, become not disheartened 
nor discouraged, thy triumph will soon 
appear, and thy power will in a short 
time be revealed.” 

Thus spoke the prophet, and disap- 
peared Bar Cochba roused himself, 
and thanked God with ail his heart, — 
something that he had not done for many 
days, for his heart had turned into stone, 
and it was already a month since God’s 
spirit had forsaken him. As he was en- 
gaged in deep meditation, he did not no- 
tice that it was Papus, the Samaritan, 
who had entered the chamber and spoken 
those consoling words; but after he 
awoke from profound reflections, he 
looked around and saw Papus standing 
respectfully near him, as a faithful ser- 
vant stands before a king. Said the 
Samaritan : 

Pardon me, my king ,that I disturbed 
the repose of your mind ” 

‘‘ Bepose ? What have I to do with 
repose ?” 

But he quickly repented of his words, 
for he reminded himself of the promise 
made to him by the prophet Elijah, a 
few momentsago; and thinking he might 
be helped through the instrumentality 
of Papus, he restrained his anger, and 
said : 

“Ho you believe that a burning moun- 
tain, that contains burning fires and de- 
structive flames in its bowels, can rest 
and repose, even if it outwardly bears 
the appearance of repose and calmness? 
I was meditating how I could defeat 
the Bomans once for all.” 

“ You meditate, and I work 1” replied 
Papus. 

“ How dare you charge me with being 
negligent in God’s labor ?” 

“ What is there that my heart will not 
dare in behalf of my country ?” rejoined 
the Samaritan. “ And now, my king, I 
pray you to listen to the great things 


48 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


that I have performed ; You know in 
what high estimation I am held by my 
co-religionists — whom you despise, — and 
how they always obey my words. I have 
used many and divers other means to 
draw them towards you, and I have now 
persuaded them to unite with you and 
to fight your battles conjointly with 
your arm3^ In the secrecy of their 
chambers they are armed even now, and 
waiting only for me to give them the 
final order to obey your commands.” 

iVt these words the king’s eyes shone 
with a lustre of joy, and the impress 
which grief and sorrow had made upon 
him disappeared. His lips uttered 
thanks to Papus, who appeared to him 
as a saving angel in the day of trouble. 

Papus !” said the king, with a joyful 
countenance, “ Papus ! God’s prophet 
predicted to me that the mighty power 
of your right hand would help and save 
me. I swear to you by my crown and 
regal staff, that if we will defeat our an- 
tagonist and conquer our enemies, you 
shall receive great rewards, you will be 
to me as a friend and brother, you will 
be second to the king only, and your co- 
religionists shall have the same rights 
as all the other citizens of my land.” 

“ But with all this,” said the Samari- 
tan, before the king had yet finished his 
words, “ but with all this, our main point 
will not yet have been reached.” 

“ Who is there that can triumph over 
us if we combine our forces, and fight 
together against our enemies ?” 

“ Discord and divided opinion can 
overcome us !” replied the Samaritan, in 
a mournful voice, forcing himself to con- 
ceal his hatred and antipathy towards 
Shimeoii under a mask of cunning and 
flattery.” 

“ Discord ?” shouted the king angrily. 
“ Almighty God of Israel, support and 
strengthen me this time, that I may ex- 
ecute thy vengeance, the vengeance of 


thy temple, and of thy nation, upon the 
sinful and barbarous Romans.” 

“ Do you really believe that the Ro- 
mans are the only ones who are our ene- 
mies, and the haters of our country ?” 
said Papus, mournfully. “ You should 
know that we have many enemies among 
the children of Israel, nay, even in this 
very city.” 

“ In this city ?” shouted the king; 
“ you are either a lunatic or a calumni- 
ator !” 

“ I pray you, come with me,” replied 
Papus, “ come with me I pray you, my 
lord and king, and you shall be convinced 
I said nothing but the truth.” 

Unwillingly the. king followed the Sa- 
maritan, who led him through intricate 
paths, until he brought him to the door 
of the great synagogue, when he said : 

“ I pray you to enter this miniature 
sanctuary, and your ears will convince 
you that my words are true.” 

The synagogue was filled with many 
of the most respectable persons of the 
city, who listened attentively to Rabbi 
Eliezer Haniodai, and their attention 
was so much engrossed in his words that 
they neither heard nor saw the king en- 
ter the building. Rabbi Eliezer stood 
near the holy ark, and in an argumenta- 
tive but eloquent tone of voice he spoke 
these words : 

“ I warned you not to fight against the 
Romans, whom God put over our heads 
because of our numerous sins. I im- 
plored you, with all my might, to con- 
clude a treaty of peace with them, but 
you would not listen to me, you would 
not heed my advice, and would not obey 
me ; therefore have we been reached by 
great misfortunes, we have become en- 
veloped by surging waters, and the mes- 
sengers of God’s wrath are constantly 
plunging us deeper and deeper in the 
jaws of destruction ! And now listen to 
a vision that appeared unto me; Yester- 
day night, as I was sitting in ashes, with 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


49 


my heart broken and my eyes weeping 
for the sufferings of my nation, my soul 
was suddenly illumined with a light as 
brilliant as the lightnings of heaven, a 
sweet slumber came upon me, and I 
slept. My bodily eyes were closed, and 
the eyes of my spirit opened, and I saw 
a terrible vision, a vision of the great 
and holy day of judgment. I lifted my 
eyes heavenward and saw the God of 
justice sitting upon a magnificent throne, 
and seraphim encircled him; a lake of 
fire burned before the glorious throne, 
and myriads of angels stood around the 
edge of that awful lake. Suddenly the 
voice of the great trumpet was heard, 
and all nations and tongues from all 
parts of the world assembled with a ter- 
rible noise, with a frightful clamor and 
larum, to take their respective positions 
before the seat of judgment; it was as 
though the waves of the mighty seas 
were rolling over each other on a stormy 
day, as though the billows of the ocean 
were slashing against each other in a day 
of tempest. But above all this noise, 
the voice of the angel could be heard 
exclaiming: “ Let the Homan nation ap- 
proach here !” The haughty Homans 
approached with their mighty weapons 
and triumphal crowns, and deposited 
these testimonials of their power and 
glory at the angel’s feet ; but the An- 
cient of days who sat upon the throne 
said : 

“ I am aware of the strength of your 
arm, you have imprinted its marks upon 
land and sea, you have subdued numer- 
ous countries with fire and sword, and 
who has not heard of your might ? But 
I ask of you to tell me what you have 
done for my nation Israel ? You see 
this Law which reposes in my bosom ? 
Do you know that I only love those 
who are guided by its commands, and 
that I hate all those that hate this law 
and persecute its observers?” 


The Homans stood there quivering 
and trembling, but finally they said : 

“ We have built bath houses, the like 
of which can not be found in all the 
world, we have laid out broad and beauti- 
ful avenues, and by the work of our 
hands and the study of our minds we in- 
vented all the pleasures known to 
humanity; and for whom did we undergo 
all this immense labor ? Only for the 
nation Israel, so that they might study 
the Law which Thou gavest to them 
and not to us, and so that they might 
observe all its commands in joy and af- 
fluence. For as Thou didst not give the 
law as an inheritance to us, and the com- 
mands were not intended for us, there- 
fore have we assisted Thy nation Israel 
unto whom Thou didst reveal Thyself, 
and to whom Thou didst make known 
Thy laws.” 

But the God of judgment answered 
them : 

“ Fools ! Can you conceal anything 
from me ? I see the heart and search 
the reins ; before you think your 
thought, I know it all. All that you 
built, invented and prepared, was only 
done in order to increase your power and 
might, and in order that you might en- 
joy carnal pleasures; there is not one 
among you who respected my law, there 
is not one among you who did not try to 
injure the children of Israel, the ob- 
servers of that law. ” 

The mighty and haughty Homans 
then departed from before the Judge of 
the universe in fear, confusion, and with 
their heads bowed down. * * I awoke? 
and streams of tears issued from my 
eyes, for I understand the interpretation 
of this dream. Alas ! I see that the 
children of our nation direct their at- 
tention to the pleasures and luxuries of 
the world which are as transient as a 
shadow, but they do not even think of 
life eternal, of the life of the soul. They 
constantly desire to build luxurious pal- 


50 


The Fall of Bethar. 


aces, to dress in silk and lace, to wear 
beautiful and rich garments, to adorn 
themselves with gold and jewels like the 
Eoman aristocrats, and to rule over their 
brethren in pride and haughtiness. This 
is the reason why the Komans said to 
the omniscient God, that the house of 
Jacob participated in the pleasures 
which they had invented in their coun- 
tr}". Woe unto me ! The word that 
God spoke through his servants, the 
prophets, will soon be fulfilled upon the 
children of Israel ! In a short time 
God will scatter us over all nations and 
spread us over all lands. 0, house of 
Israel ! return and repent, for why will 
you die, when God may yet listen to 
your petitions and grant your prayers ? 
Pursue the path of peace and avoid war? 
remain in your country, even if you have 
to work hard for your living, and have 
to endure many sufferings. Israel, my 
nation, doest thou wish to move about 
in strange lands, like a bird that for- 
sakes her nest and flies from branch 
to branch so that it may escape the ar- 
rows of its pursuers ? If thou seekest 
for greatness, then thou wilt be a so- 
journer and wanderer in all countries of 
the earth, thy heart will find no rest 
and thy soul no repose ; but if thou 
wilt be satisfied with bread to still thy 
hunger, then thy sorrows will change 
into joy, and thy misfortunes into glad- 
ness.*’ 

A deadly fear came over all who had 
heard the words of this holy man, who 
had prophesied to them that if they 
would not submit to the Romans, they 
would be scattered in all lands,'and among 
all nations. But Bar Cochba was very 
vexed, and his anger burned within him; 
he exerted all his energies to restrain 
himself, he left the synagogue and pro- 
ceeded to the palace, whence he immedi- 
ately ordered all the elders, sages, judges 
and scribes to appear before him ; he 
also called Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai to 


appear at this assemblage. That rabbi 
— though his heart warned him of terri- 
ble things — went with a calm spirit and 
undisturbed confidence to his nephew’s 
house. When the venerable assembly 
had all arrived. Bar Cochba seated him- 
self upon his throne and said : 

“ Righteous judges ! you know that 
the entire congregation of Israel swore 
by the God of truth and by His law, that 
they would not speak of making peace 
with the Romans, and that the man who 
would violate this oath should be con- 
demned to death by the judges, without 
any option of any kind. Now, it is not 
long since I heard with my own earsi 
that my uncle. Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai, 
advised the people assembled in the syna- 
gogue to conclude a treaty of peace with 
our enemies, who blaspheme our God 
and destroy our land ; and he told them 
that if they fought against the Romans, 
their end would be bitter, and they 
would meet with great sufferings. Who 
told him this ? How can he foretell the 
end at the beginning ? Is he a prophet, 
and did God communicate this to him ? 
This certainly proves that he has made 
covenant with the Romans, he has made 
peace with Tinius Rufus, and has held 
secret iftterviews with Julius Severus ! 
Though I knew that he was a secret 
traitor and perjurer since the day that 
he left his daughter Keturah at Rufus’ 
palace, I nevertheless restrained myself 
and remained silent, until I heard with 
my own ears that he publicly advocated 
peace with the Romans, and discouraged 
our soldiers. Decide now the punish- 
ment of this traitor and perjurer! Judge 
his case without any respect to his per- 
son, for the judgment is God’s 1 ” 

“ Your words are true ! ” answered 
Rabbi Eliezer, “ Your words are true ! 
I left my daughter in Rufus’ palace — 
not because I wanted to, but because I 
was forced, — and she gladly endured 
death because of her love to me and to 


The Fall oe Bethar. 


51 


our country. I only wish that I also 
could purchase with my blood the peace 
of our country, and of our nation, and 
that I could persuade you to make peace 
with the Homans.” 

“ Do 3 ^ou hear ?” shouted Bar Cochba, 
“ Do you hear ? He left his daughter 
in the hands of the tyrannical Bufus, and 
made with him a covenant of peace ! ” 

The judges were greatly confused, for 
they were forced between two difficul- 
ties, and they knew not how to proceed. 
They were fully aware of the fact, 
that any man who tried to make peace 
with the Homans, whilst the whole na- 
tion was fighting against them, deserved 
to be put to death, in order that the 
whole nation might see the consequences 
of such actions, and abstain from imi- 
tating them ; for if the nation did not 
fight against the Homans with all their 
hearts, then the city of Bethar would 
also fall into the enemy’s hands, and the 
remnant of Judah would be hopelessly 
lost. Still they had not the hardihood 
to pronounce a sentence of death against 
an aged and venerable man like Habbi 
Eliezer Hamodai, whose wisdom was 
great and whose learning profound, 
whose most valuable possession was his 
religion, whose love toward his nation 
and country was strong as death, and 
whose countenance had shrank from 
fasting, weeping, and mourning over the 
sorrows of his nation. And besides this, 
the majority of the people residing in 
Bethar believed that as long as that holy 
man remained in the land of the living, 
the city would not be conquered by the 
enemy. The judges finding themselves 
in this predicament, remained silent, 
and did not say anything good or bad 
about Habbi Eliezer. 

“ You are silent ! ” exclaimed Bar 
Cochba, trembling, so that he appeared 
like a lunatic. ” You are silent I ” 

In his anger he unsheathed his flaming 
javelin, and with the rapidity of light- 


ning pushed it into Habbi Eliezer’s 
heart, and in a moment the venerable 
sage fell upon the ground, and his blood 
spouted upon the horrified judges. The 
holy man raised himself for the last 
time, and uttered in a feeble voice : 

“ It is well and good for me that I 
have departed before the days have ar- 
rived ! I pray of you my brethren and 
nation, to seek the welfare of the coun- 
tries where God will banish you, pray 
for your kings and masters, for through 
their welfare and prosperity you also will 
enjoy peace and happiness ! Shimeon, 
conclude a treaty of peace with the Ho- 
mans, so that the remnant of Judah may 
not be lost among the nations ; but, alas ! 
the time has already passed ! In thy 
hands, 0 God of truth, do I commit my 
spirit; receive me in thy mercy!” 

When he had spoken this he fell to 
the ground, and his soul ascended to 
heaven. All those who were present in 
the palace of Bar Cochba, trembled \do- 
lently because of this terrible murder ; 
the king looked with weeping eyes upon 
the corpse of his uncle, who had been 
holy before God and sacred to Israel, 
for after he had done the deed he recog- 
nized his mistake, and repented of it ; 
his heart tormented him unceasingly, 
his conscience rebuked him severely ; 
poisonous regrets, which cannot be 
charmed away, instilled bitter sorrow 
and pain in his mind and heart, until the 
daylight became dark to him ; his body 
trembled and his knees shook, he fell to 
the ground at the feet of his uncle, and 
became as silent as a stone. 


XY. 

THE LAST GLIMMER. 

The ninth day of Ab has again arrived, 
— a day which has been the bearer of 
trouble to Jacob from time immemorial. 
The sun has arisen from the sea, which 
was near to the province of Bethar, and 
its rays reflected upon the copper hel- 


52 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


mets which shone upon the heads of the 
soldiers descending from the mountain’s 
peak. These soldiers are the Jewish 
ariii}", descending from the high path, 
called “ The serpent's path,” on account 
of its various and intricate windings. 
At the head of the armj^ is f he king, 
Shimeon Bar Cochba; on his head he 
wears a purple cap, his lofty brow is 
covered by a golden crown studded with 
jewels, and his tall and commanding form 
is enveloped in a scarlet cloak decked 
with burning stones. He holds in his 
mighty hand a javelin, on his side hangs 
a large sword, the handle of which is 
adorned with diamonds and rubies, and 
on his shoulders he carries a pouch filled 
with deadly missiles. With a serene and 
commanding aspect, he rides upon a lion 
whose roar is terrific, and whose voice 
makes the bravest man tremble. That 
mighty and powerful hero turned his 
angry countenance towards the fortress 
of Bethar, and from the depths of his 
heart there escaped a sigh, like that 
which escapes from a murdered man 
when he draws his last breath. He had 
left the fortress in order to give battle 
to the Bomans in open field. He was 
followed by ten thousand picked war- 
riors, all of whom were well trained and 
disciplined. Behind these, marched the 
remainder of the army, with food and 
baggage, whilst two thousand men re- 
mained in the city, in order to guard the 
fortress, and to keep an eye over the 
residents, so that no rebellion might oc- 
cur. On the summit of the mountain 
which overlooked the enemy's camp, the 
Jewish warriors took their position, and 
prepared for battle, whilst the Bomans 
stood before them in great numbers and 
in warlike attitude. Shimeon Bar Cochba 
stood in the midst of his army, and spoke 
these brief but eloquent words : 

“ My brethren and nation! The events 
of this day will demonstrate whether we 
shall be victorious and vanquish our 


enemies, or whether we shall be slain by 
their swords. Alas for the day when 
the enemy is triumphant ! With tem- 
pestuous anger will he then exterminate 
the house of Judah, with the vindictive- 
ness of evil spirits the Bomans will in 
their revengeful indignation, send death 
and destruction into our midst ; they 
will slay young and old, they will mur- 
der young men and virgins ; our child- 
bearing women they will kill, and our 
infants they will dash against the rocks. 
They will burn our places of worship, 
they will destroy all the houses in the 
city, nor will they leave two stones on 
the top of each other, and there will be 
no end or limit to the barbarities and 
cruelties which they will invent in order 
to exterminate us ! But if with the 
help of God we will triumph over our 
enemies, then we will crush their swords 
to dust, we will render their bows as 
harmless as straw, we will pursue them 
in our anger and destroy them from un- 
der the heavens of God. Ah ! then will 
Jacob rejoice in eternal joy, Israel will 
delight in eternal happiness, and the 
remnant of the house of Judah will bloom 
like a rose in the garden of the Lord of 
hosts 1 Mount Moriah will become re- 
nowned, great, high and lofty, and from 
its summit the sanctuary of God will 
shed its brilliant light. Strengthen 
yourselves and be strong, ye who fight 
God’s battles ! When you attack the 
enemy’s army, stand as firm as the 
mighty rocks which repose in the sea’s 
bosom, and laugh at the tornado and the 
tempest, whilst myriads of waves and 
billows crush over their mighty heads ! 
Let your flaming swords fly with the 
rapidity of lightning, issuing from a 
clouded sky 1 Let your glittering ar- 
rows illumine the thick and profound 
shadow of death ! Let the world re- 
echo your tremendous exclamations of 
victory, and let the pillars of the heav- 
ens shake and quake I” 


The Fall of Bethar. 


53 


When he had spoken these words, liis 
eyes burned like fire-balls, and his coun- 
tenance shone like flame, and the lion 
upon which he rode — that always made 
his voice heard whenever his rider was 
inspired with bravery and courage— lifted 
his immense neck, and gave vent to a 
most terrible roar, whilst Shimeon un- 
sheathed his sword and knocked it vio- 
lently against the iron of his javelin, 
whence sparks of fire proceeded ; all the 
Generals also drew their swords, and 
burning flames issued, so that when 
viewed at a distance, the whole army 
seemed to be on fire. All the drums 
sounded together, all the horns and cor- 
nets ; the cymbals and timbrels made 
their united voices heard; the horses also 
neighed with all their might, and from 
their stamping upon the stones, burning 
flames were created, so that there were 
lightning and thunder, fire and flame ; 
the earth quaked and trembled, and all 
the soldiers blew a loud blast on their 
cornets, and exclaimed : 

“ The sword of God and Shimeon.” 

After the tumult was silenced. Bar 
Cochba again said : 

“ Now, my nation and brethren! now I 
know that the Lord God of hosts will 
assist our army, and will fight our battles, 
for the spirit of bravery has returned to 
me and animates me now, even as it did 
when I first mounted the walls of Caesa- 
rea and Jerusalem, — for the right hand 
of God is still strong, God’s right hand 
will still attain victory, and nothing can 
prevent him from triumphing, whether 
the army be great or small. But 
whichever the result will be, let us 
girdle ourselves with determination and 
courage, and fight against the Bomans ; 
let us fight against them until we all 
fall by the sword — if such will be the 
decree of God — or until we will have 
vanquished them, and will not have al- 
lowed a soul of them to remain.” 


When Shimeon had uttered the last 
word, a loud and tremendous voice could 
be heard exclaiming, “ Vengeance.” 
That voice proceeded from the foot of the 
mountain near the fortress, where thou- 
sands of Samaritans had encamped at 
Papus’ advice in order to aid the Jews if 
the enemy should prove too strong 
for them. But Papus had made a secret 
treaty with the Boman General Severus, 
and with Bufus, the representative of 
Caesar, to the effect that he should help 
them in this war, and that he would by 
his cunning and trickery destroy the 
leading officers of the Jewish army. 
He had only brought the Samaritan 
troops in order to delude Bar Cochba, to 
remove him from the strongly fortified 
fortress, and to persuade him to rely on 
this assisting army, and to fight with the 
Bomans in the open field. 

“ Ah 1” exclaimed Papus, then, “ Ah 1 
Shimeon has fallen into the net which I 
prepared for him I I have put the hook 
in the jaws of this mighty monster, and 
have brought him upon the dry land ; 
he shall fall here on this field, he shall 
not be interred, but his corpse shall be 
food for the beasts of the earth and the 
fowls of the air. His beloved Keturah 
died through my cunning devise, and 
Eliezer, her father, was murdered 
through my treachery and vengeance. 
Ah 1 how sweet and delightful is ven- 
geance ! All the Jews will also be ut- 
terly destroyed through the labor of my 
hands, and no one will be able to save 
them. It is my hatred, which is as strong 
as death, which has done this ; and my 
vengeance, which is as bitter as the 
grave, that has now come to pass ; and 
my eyes have the pleasure of seeing it. 
But my intention to become king over 
this land has not yet come to pass, nor 
will it ever be realized, because the ma- 
jority of the people hate me on account 
of my belief, and will never consent to 
choose a Samaritan for their king ; nor 


54 


The Fall of Bethar. 


will the Bomans bestow a regal crown 
upon any other man besides their em- 
peror who occupies the throne in Home, 
Therefore do I do my utmost to find 
grace and good-wdll in the eyes of the 
Roman rulers, in order that I may in- 
crease in power and wealth, in fame and 
glory ; this is the reason why I have 
saved Rufus from death, and this is the 
reason why I have betrayed Shimeon 
and his army into the hands of Severus.” 

Many of Shimeon’s followers had no 
confidence in Papus, and had advised 
Shimeon to mistrust that cunning ser 
pent, many of his counsellors had also 
warned him to guard himself against 
that Samaritan adventurer, for they be- 
lieved that he was digging a pit for his 
downfall ; but many of them had confi- 
dence and believed in him, for they could 
not understand the possibility of the Sa- 
maritans helping the Romans, as by such 
treacherous conduct they would but in- 
jure themselves and destroy their coun- 
try. 

The spirit of God had departed from 
Bar Cochba since the day when he had 
murdered his uncle, and an avenging 
evil spirit constantly disturbed him. His 
heart prophesied to him that he would 
finally be destroyed ; the angel of death 
with a drawn sword, constantly stood 
before him, and the grave gaped at his 
every step to devour him. 

“ My father told me,” Shimeon would 
say to his friends and acquaintances, 
iMy father told me what he saw when 
Titus destroyed Judah’s fortress and 
burned God’s sanctuary. That cruel 
soldier polluted the holy-of-holies,abused 
our faith and religion, blasphemed 
the God of Israel, and did everything 
that was abominable in the sight of God. 
With a bloody sword Titus pierced the 
curtain that covered the holy ark, and 
drops of blood issued from the curtain ; 
the tyrant rejoiced, and said that his 
sword has pierced the heart of Israel’s 


rock, — he did not know that the blood 
w\as the blood of the sacrifices which the 
high-priest had sprinkled upon the cur- 
tain on the day of atonement. After he 
had conquered our holy land, the tyrant 
went in a ship in order to return to his 
country with the plunder of Jerusalem 
and the captives of Judah, when a tre- 
mendous storm arose on the sea, a furi- 
ous and terrible hurricane, wdiich dis- 
turbed the sea to its utmost depths ; the 
ship was lifted up and dashed against 
rocks, until every one believed that she 
Avould break and sink into the mighty 
w^aters. Titus then lifted his hand 
against God, and with a haughty tongue 
he exclaimed : 

“ The God of the Hebrews is only 
mighty when fighting in rivers or on 
seas. He sank Pharaoh and his army in 
the Red jSea, he drowned Sisra and his 
mighty troops in the brook Kishon, but 
on the dry land he is feeble and power- 
less; let him come and fight wdth me on 
the dry land, and we will see if he can 
stand before my sword !” 

He was still speaking when the tem- 
pest abated, the waves desisted, the wa- 
ters of the sea tiowed as smooth as oil, 
and the ship fioated safely and quietly 
until it reached its destination. No 
sooner, however, had Titus left the ship 
and put his foot upon the dry land, when 
a voice from heaven exclaimed : 

“ Now, jester ! the smallest of my 
creatures is proceeding to fight with 
thee on the dry land ; prepare thyself 
like a man and vanquish him if thou 
canst !” 

At the same moment he was sur- 
rounded by a swarm of insects, and the 
youngest and smallest of them entered 
one of his nostrils, whence it ascended 
to his brain and pierced him unceasingly. 
In vain did the doctors labor, in vain did 
they advise and experiment, no counsel, 
wisdom or might could prevail against 
the insect ! Once Titus passed by the 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


55 


door of a smith, and from the noise made 
by the hammer the insect ceased pecking 
his brains. From that time on Titus 
ordered that some one should constantly 
hammer and make a noise, in his pres- 
ence ; but the insect soon became ac- 
customed to the noise, it awoke from its 
temporary lethargy, and began pecking 
Titus’ brains as before. Finally the in- 
sect pierced the tyrant’s brain, and ab- 
sorbed his life-blood day and night, until 
it became as large as a young dove, its 
peck turned into copper, and its nails 
became as hard as iron, and it did not 
take long before Titus died in fearful 
l)ain and terrible agony.* 

“ Behold !” Shinieon would say: Be- 
hold ! I understand the interpretation of 
this parable, and from my own experi- 
ence I comprehend the moral which this 
fable is intended to teach us. For alas ! 
that insect is also pecking at my braiin 
that insect is also sucking my life’s blood 
by day and by night, and that insect is — 
the remorse which the wicked man en- 
dures after he knows and recognizes his 
sin and wickedness ; those pangs are 
like insects in the transgressor’s brain, 
like worms in the depths of his heart, 
and like poison in his veins and bones ! 
And though through worldly cares and 
the rush of affairs the pain may cease, 
and the pangs diminish, they are only 
sleeping, and they will awake with re- 
newed strength and increased energy ; 
they will sting like serpents and pierce 
like scori)ions, until they finally consume 
the sinner’s bones, and drag his mourn- 
ful carcass down to the grave. Alas ! 
the image of my beloved Keturah is al- 
ways present before my eyes, and every 
moment I see her as she was dashed 
against the rock, and as her bones rolled 
in all directions ; sometimes I see the 
corpse of her father, Eliezer, covered 
with her blood, and Keturah’s last words, 

*Soe Gittin fol. 57. 


telling me to console her aged father, 
sound in my ears with the noise of thun- 
der by day and by night. For these 
reasons will I arise and plunge my soul 
into the hurricane of war, in order to si- 
lence the destructive insect which gnaws 
at my heart and consumes my brain and 
power. My heart yearns for the battle- 
field and for the slaughtering place, my 
si)irit is anxious for the din of war and 
for stormy confusion, and should I be 
delayed for a few days, then my brains 
would be consumed in my head on ac- 
count of my transgressions which have 
triumphed over me ” 

Beally, the vision of this doomed heart 
was by no means false ! llis heart pre- 
dicted his end, and liis soul knew that 
days of suffering and darkness was in 
store for him. 

The sun had left the extreme end of 
the heavens, and shed its golden rays 
upon the thousands of shields and hel- 
mets in the Boman camp, and the stan- 
dard which was above the soldiers showed 
that the war haa begun. 

Tlie Jews fouglit like lions, one of them 
pursued ten enemies, and two made a 
hundred fly ; eveiy one of them made 
many corpses with his javelin, and the 
Homans received some terrible blows ; 
destruction was raging among them and 
their glory was lowered to the ground, 
and still the Jews had not triumphed 
over their powerful enemies who were 
as numerous as the sand of the sea. 
The sun had already reached the center 
of the heavens, and it was not yet 
known whose hand had been triumphant 
in the war. The sun had set to its ut- 
most limit, and still it was not known 
with which side lay the victory and 
glory. One moment the Jews blew their 
cornets, and the next moment the Bo- 
mans would be victorious, by the assist- 
ance of new soldiers who were fresh and 
would fight with vigor. But finally Is- 
rael triumphed, and the strength of the 


56 


The Fall of Bethar. 


Bomans failed, for a hol}^ and venerable 
man suddenly appeared in Israel’s ar- 
mies, an aged man, whose white locks 
descended upon a purple cloak, whose 
gray beard commanded reverence and 
obedience, and who carried in his right 
hand the flag of Judah, — that man was 
Babbi Akiba, who had come with twenty- 
four thousand men to help his brethren. 
He advanced with the rapidity of light- 
ning to the front of the elewish army, 
and wherever his foot trod the Bomans 
fell as straw before the reaper. AVheii 
the Bomans saw that their strength had 
departed, and that they were losing the 
battle, they began to retreat ; but sud- 
denly and unexpectedly a loud trumpet 
blast was heard in the Boman camp, all 
the drums beat simultaneously, the noise 
of the cornets ascended to heaven, and 
all the army exclaimed with all their 
might : 

“ May Caesar live forever !’‘ 

When the Jews heard that exclama- 
tion, and were convinced that the em- 
peror Hadrian had come to command 
the army, they were greatly frightened, 
and immense confusion prevailed among 
their different wings, for they were but 
few and exhausted, whilst their enemies 
increased every moment in number and 
power. Then did Shimeon send a mes- 
senger to Papus, asking him to tell his 
men to assist the discouraged Jews. Pa- 
pus, with his many troops, left their 
place, went to the tent of Bar Cochba 
and united themselves with his army. 
But in the midst of the confusion of this 
great and desperate battle, there sud- 
denly came flying a poisoned arrow, 
which settled in the breast of the lion 
upon which Bar Cochba was riding ; the 
lion fell under his rider with a fear- 
ful roar, but he suddenly arose and 
ran into the Boman army, where lie 
killed, devoured, and trod down, like a 
destroying demon from whom none can 
save, until he was pierced with sharp- 


arrows, and fell like dead on the ground. 
But he again gathered his remaining 
strength, and crawled upon his belly un- 
til he came to the feet of his master the 
king, wh<:y;y(li|e dearly loved, when he lay 
down before him, looked at him with a 
gloomy countenance, heaved his last sigh 
and was dead. The king bowed his head 
upon his faithful servant, in order to pat 
his head for the last time, when a deadly 
arrow came flying from some unknown 
part of the army, penetrated his shield, 
and entered his left side so that he fell 
backwards with a terrible cry of pain. 
Immense confusion prevailed in the 
army,wdio all surrounded their murdered 
king, but Papus with his soldiers at- 
tacked the Bomans in hot anger, and re- 
newed the terrible battle. The heroes 
of Bethar fell upon their enemies with 
fearful yells, and showered arrows and 
missiles, fire and flame, stones and deadly 
weapons upon their heads. They re- 
tained their places like iron pillars, they 
stood in their positions, nor did they lay 
aside their swords until they were 
slaughtered by the Bomans, and not 
one of them remained in life. 

Night spread its mournful veil over 
the battlefield, which was covered with 
the dead and wounded. The Bomans 
had been exhausted, wounded and di- 
minished, and had retired to their tents- 
But on the solitary battlefield could be 
seen an image, moving as silently as 
a demon ; the image was that of I^a- 
pus, the Samaritan, who had aimed the 
deadly missile at the lion of Judah’s 
hero, and who in the evil of his heart 
had murdered Shimeon. The cursed 
Samaritan made his way among the 
corpses, looking for the body of Shimeon 
Bar Cochba. When he had found it, he 
knelt down and whispered into Shimc- 
on’s ear : 

“ I pray you, 0 king messiah, to love 
Papus and to bless him, because he has 
brought you to your beloved Keturah.” 


The Fall of Betiiar. 


57 


When he had thus spoken, he took his 
sword and cut off the head of the king, 
who had fallen in battle like a hero ; he 
brought that head to Rufus and Severus, 
and they sent it to Hadrian. But from 
the forest which was near to the battle- 
field there issued a huge serpent, who 
entwined the bodies of king Shimeon 
and of the lion who lay at his feet, as a 
commemorative sign that the strength 
of Judah’s lion had failed through the 
cunning of the Samaritan, the serpent, 
who was more deceitful than all the 
beasts of the field. 

XVI. 

THE END. 

In a deep underground cellar, where 
a gloomy darkness and the shadows of 
the grave prevailed, in a cellar whose 
pestilent atnlosphere was sufficient to 
take away one’s breath, in a cellar 
shrouded in darkness and the silence of 
the grave, sat Rabbi Akiba on the eve 
of the Day of Atonement ; his hands 
were shackled, and his feet were bound 
with heavy iron chains. At the feet of 
this holy and learned man sat the lead- 
ing sages of Israel. Amongst them were 
Rabbi Meir, who made clear the most 
complex questions of law to the sages. 
Rabbi Jehuda, Rabbi Shimeon b. Yochai, 
and Rabbi Yosi, his best pupils and 
most intimate friends. They all sat 
silent, the fountains of their eyes were 
empty and dry, their sighs were sup- 
pressed in their bosoms, their tongues 
cleaved to their throats; there was the 
silence of death around them, and they 
appeared like those who ascend from 
the grave. 

The sound of rattling chains was 
heard. Rabbi Akiba moved forward and 
backward, and said to the holy assembly 
sitting at his feet : “ You have returned, 
my dear children; you have returned to 
see your aged teacher and old friend, 
who is doomed to die a cruel death by 


the hands of the vindictive enemy, and 
in a short time he will be slaughtered 
before your eyes, for none can save him; 
but do not weep nor mourn for me, my 
children; let us rather weep for the sins 
which we have committed; let us im- 
plore and supplicate God to forgive us 
our sins on this day of atonement. Well 
and good is it for me that you see me in 
this position ! My death will be an 
atonement for all my sins ! For, alas, I 
sinned greatly when I believed in Shi- 
meon Bar Cochba. I should have known 
that a proud and passionate man like 
he never could be God’s messiah ; I 
should have known that the King mes- 
siah does not ride upon a mighty and 
magnificent lion, decked with a golden 
crown and filled with pride and haughti- 
ness, but that he will enter Jerusalem’s 
portals meekly and humbly. But God’s 
law is perfect, and will remain forever ; 
it constitutes the life of our immortal 
souls ; for its sake we should be willing 
to endanger our lives ; for its sake we 
should be ready to pass through fire and 
water, and for its obedience we should 
always gladly endure death. In times 
of trouble like these, it behooves us not 
only to teach our people with our 
mouths and lips, that our religion is the 
daughter of the true God and eternal 
King, but also to demonstrate this by 
our deeds and actions, so that people 
may not exchange life eternal for earthly 
life and carnal pleasures. Jerusalem, 
the holy city, is no more ; sorrow and 
suffering have destroyed her, and an- 
other city, built by the Romans, will 
stand upon her sacred ground. An idol’s 
temple will raise its head on the site 
where the sanctuary once stood, and an 
abominable pollution will be placed on 
the spot which was occupied by the ark 
of the testimony. The great and mighty 
city of Bethar has become a wilderness 
and a desolate waste ; its earth has ab- 
sorbed the blood of thousands of our 


58 


The Fall of Bethar. 


brethren, and its soil has been enriched 
witli tlie gore of our saints and pious 
ones. The eneiu}^ dashed our children 
upon the edges of its rocks ; in all its 
streets the}^ slaughtered our child-bear- 
ing women ; all its surroundings have 
been changed into pools of ])lood, the 
blood of our brethren, the children of 
our nation and of our God ; the red 
streams will flow into and unite with 
the waters of the Great Sea, which they 
will turn into blood. All those who 
have escaped the destroying sword, will 
be sold in the streets as life-long slaves; 
the precious children of Zion will be 
spread, scattered and banished among 
all the nations of the earth ; they will 
be carried in disgrace and starvation to 
all the four corners of heaven, and they 
will endure terrible evils and persecu- 
tions in all countries and in the isles 
afar. The son will be separated from 
his father, the daughter from her 
mother, the beloved wife will be snatched 
from the husband of her youth, and the 
old man will be removed from the circle 
of his grand-children. These lost and 
doomed people are even now covering 
themselves for the last time with the 
ashes of their burned houses, they are 
embracing the remaining stones of their 
dwellings, and are kissing the soil of 
their fatherland with burning lips and 
melting hearts, before they are driven 
from it, never, never to return. Fearful 
and terrible is the voice of their mourn- 
ing ; the sighs of their hearts^ are as 
deep as the mighty waters ! Alas, alas ! 
how has Israel’s crown fallen, how have 
our heroes fallen, how have our stars 
fallen down from heaven to be trod 
down under the feet of transgressors 
and blasphemers ! 

Alas, my eyes have been consumed in 
tears, my reins have been consumed in 
my bosom, my liver has fallen to the 
ground because of my nation’s suffer- 
ings ! 


Many years will the children of Israel 
dwell in the lands of those who hate, 
rob, and persecute them ; many days 
they will be without priest, minister, or 
teacher ; they will travel from sea to 
sea, and from the east to the west, they 
will seek for God’s word, but they will 
not find it, and their souls will pine to 
embrace the dust of Zion’s deserted 
mountain, to shed their tears upon their 
ruined sanctuary, and even to endure 
the pains of the grave, and the torture of 
death in the bosom of their desol ate coun- 
tr3^ IMan}" days will the}^ mourn in pain, 
with broken hearts and dry eyes they 
will sit hoping and waiting for God’s 
salvation, and with Korah’s sons the}^ 
will pour out their prayers to God to 
allow them to return into His presence 
in Jerusalem, His holy mountain. And 
the small remnant who will escape from 
the sword and famine, captivity and 
pestilence, and will remain in our holy 
land, will be doomed to death if they 
do not deny the Lord God of Israel 
and spread out their hands to strange 
gods, if they do not forsake our holy 
religion and unite themselves with the 
sensual creed of the idolaters. Even 
now our enemies will not allow us to 
assemble on the fast-day of Atonement, 
in order* to pray to God, for devotion in 
assembly is better and more acceptable 
than private prayer. 

Alas ! I have become disgusted with 
my life on account of the Romans, and 
I have chosen death ! And what is 
death ? It is simply the bridge which 
we cross from earthly life, the life of 
vanity, to life eternal, the life of the 
soul, a life where there is eternal joy 
and delight in Eden, the garden of God ! 
It is therefor that I endangered my 
life and taught God’s law to the congre- 
gation of Jacob in violation of the edict 
wherein they commanded us not to 
study the law. ' 


The Fall op Bethar. 


59 


Once, when an immense assembly 
gathered in the city, to hear me ex- 
pound the law, it so happened that 
Papus, the Samaritan, passed through 
that street, and when he heard that I 
was expounding the law openly and- 
publicly, he loudly exclaimed to me: 

“ Why do you transgress the king’s 
command and endanger your life ? Do 
you not know that the command has 
proceeded from the Emperor of Rome 
that the law of Moses and Israel shall 
be exterminated, and that the trans- 
gressor of this command shall certainly 
be punished with death ?” 

But I replied to him : 

“ Are fyou Papus, who is said to be 
so wise and clever ? I see now that you 
are the contrary ! Let me narrate to you 
a fable : 

The fox once went to the edge of the 
sea, and saw the fishes hastily swim- 
ming forward and backward, when he 
said to them : 

“ What ails you, my brothers and 
friends, that you unceasingly move and 
change your places ; of whom are you 
afraid in these peaceful waters ?” 

“ We are afraid of the fishermen,” an- 
swered the fishes, “ we are afraid of the 
fishermen, who throw their hooks into 
the waters, and spread their nets on the 
seas.” 

“ If this is the case,” replied the fox, 
“ then come with me to the dry land 
and I will be your protector, and w^e will 
dwell together in peace and harmony, 
as our ancestors did.” 

But the fishes responded : 

“ Are you the fox, the wisest of all the 
beasts of the earth? You are not clever, 
but foolish ! Even when we are in the 
element of our life we have to fear death, 
much more when we will be in a place 
where we cannot live many seconds !” 

So is it with us, the house of Israel ; 
if even when we study the law, which is 


the atmosphere of our life and the breath 
of our existence, we are afraid of death, 
much more will this be so when we leave 
the law and push it away from us. 

Papus shook his head, for he did not 
believe my words, and went his way. In 
a few days the agents of Rufus surpris- 
ed me whilst I was preaching salvation 
to an immense assembly, they bound me 
in iron chains and brought me to their 
master. Rufus’ knew me personally — 
for I had many times prayed of him to 
contribute his mite towards the support 
of our poor, but he always laughed and 
jested at me, and would answer me: 

“ If your God loves the poor, why 
does he not support them and provide 
them with food and clothing? Let those 
fools leave a God who hides his counte- 
nance from them, and let them follow the 
Gods of the Romans; I will then be kind 
to them and raise them to the highest 
dignities in the land.” 

When I was brought to him, bound in 
chains, he exclaimed jeeringly and mock- 
ingly : 

“ Old man ! have you come here to 
ask charity for the poor of your nation, 
or have you come to beg for your life ?” 

But I answered him : 

“ God forbid that I should beg for my 
life from a mortal man; for if God does 
not desire my death, what can flesh and 
blood do unto me? And if he desires my 
death, then there are myriads of deadly 
messengers ready to fulfill his will. But 
you, 0 enemy of the true and almighty 
God ! you should know that the Al- 
mighty is kind and merciful to those who 
love Him, and to those who love man- 
kind who are created in His image, but 
He also punishes those who hate Him 
and who hate the human family ! You 
hate God and you hate every man ; you 
have shed innocent blood plentifully ; 
you have murdered widows and stran- 
gers ; you have robbed orphans ; you 
have slaughtered saints and holy men, 


60 


The Fall of Bethah. 


and 3’ou have done everything that is 
evil in the sight of God and man ; you 
even hate in your heart your king, who 
has done you so many favors, and you 
plot even against him.” 

I had not yet finished my words, when 
Ilufus became very angry, his face 
burned, smoke issued from his nostrils, 
and fire proceeded from his mouth, as he 
exclaimed in a terrible voice ; 

'' "fhis impudent man shall be put to 
death.” 

In a moment I was surrounded by 
executioners, who threw me into this un- 
derground prison, where I am gladly and 
joyfully awaiting death, for I desire to 
show the children of my people how an 
Israelite should love his God with all 
his heart, with all his soul, and with all 
his might; and how he should believe 
with all his faith that the Lord our God 
is one God, the God of all spirits, for 
whose glory we live and for whose glory 
we die. Now has the prophecy been ful- 
filled that was prophesied of me by Bab- 
bi Eliezer b. Hyrkenos, that I would suf- 
fer a very cruel death from the hands of 
tyrants.” 

“ Why and wherefore did he predict 
for you such a mournful end?” asked 
the disciples, who were listening to him 
attentively, when Babbi Akiba answered 
thus : 

“ At the time when the garden of the 
Lord was yet blooming in Yabna, there 
existed a difference of opinion among 
Israel’s sages as to the decision of one 
legal question; finally all the sages ar- 
rived at one opinion, and Babbi Eliezer 
was the only one that was not satisfied 
with the decision, and insisted upon 
maintaining the contrary opinion on this 
question. His father-in-law, Baban 
Ganiliel Hanassi, decided that the law 
was according to the decision of the ma- 
jority, when Babbi Eliezer replied : 

“ Let this tree prove that I am right.” 


In a moment the tree left its place, 
and planted its roots in another spot. 
But all the sages unanimously replied : 

“ What have we to do with the tree ? 
The Law was not given as an inherit- 
ance to it, but to us !” 

Then Babbi Eliezer said : 

“ Let the waters of this spring demon- 
strate that my mouth spoke the truth.” 

Instantly the waters of the spring 
changed their course, and flowed back- 
wards, but the sages again replied : 

“ The waters of this spring can not 
control our opinions !” * 

“ If this is the case,”said Babbi Elie- 
zer again, “if this is the case, then let 
the walls of this Seminary prove that 
my decision is correct !” In a moment 
the walls of the Seminary bent and were 
going to fall, when Babbi Yeshua arose 
and angrily shouted to the walls : 

“ What have you to do with us, that 
you interfere in a dispute that does not 
concern you ?” 

The walls did not fall to the ground, in 
order to give honor to Babbi Yeshua, 
but neither did they return to their 
original position, because of the respect 
of Babbi Eliezer, and as you have seen 
with your own eyes, they are still bent 
to this day. But Babbi Eliezer was 
anxious to vindicate the majesty of truth, 
and thinking that his opinion was right, 
he became angry, and called to the high 
heavens, saying : 

“ Let them decide from the heavens 
whether I am right in my decision !” 

In a moment the Bath-kol (Voice) 
exclaimed from heaven: 

“ What do you sages of Israel want 
with Babbi Eliezer ? The law is always 
according to his opinion !” 

Babbi Yeshua arose again and said : 

“ We pay no attention to the Bath- 
kol, for God’s holy word declares tliat 
we should abide by the decision of the 
majority, and what more do we want ?” 


The Fall of Bethar. 


61 


The law was recorded as the majority 
of rabbis had decided, and this ended the 
dispute ; but Kabbi Eliezer became an- 
gry, and would not attend the Seminary 
any more. When the Sages of Israel 
saw that liabbi Eliezer continued to dif- 
fer with them in a point which was one 
of the fundamental principles of religion, 
they excommunicated him, to show and 
teach all Israel that no one man should 
ever again insist that the majority should 
adopt his opinion, for all religious disci- 
pline would then be destroyed. All the 
students of the Law knew that the sages 
of Yabna had excommunicated Ilabbi 
Eliezer, but he himself did not yet know 
anything of the matter, for not one man 
could be found among all the sages who 
was willing to make this known to Ilabbi 
Eliezer. I then said to the sages : 

“ I am ready, send me. I will go and 
tell him of this, lest the matter be made 
known to him by some of the ignorant 
people, when he will become angered and 
pray to heaven for vengeance against us.” 

In mourner’s garments and with a bro- 
ken heart, I went to the city of Lud, the 
dwelling place of Rabbi Eliezer, I en- 
tered his house and sat down on the 
ground at a distance of four yards from 
him. As soon as he saw me he said to 
me : 

‘‘ Akiba ! what means this mourn- 
ing ?” 

“ Rabbi !” I replied, with a sorrowful 
countenance, “ Rabbi ! it seems to me 
that the sages of Israel have separated 
themselves from you.” 

He then comprehended what had been 
decreed upon him ; he sighed terribly, 
wept bitterly, removed his shoes, tore 
his garments, and sat down upon the 
ground. At the same moment the heav- 
ens were darkened with clouds, the sun- 
light disappeared, the earth clad itself 
in robes of mourning, and all its produc- 
tions and trees lifted their voices in 
tunes of sorrow and affliction. 


After the lapse of many days we heard 
that he was sick, and was confined to his 
bed, so we went to his house to visit him. 
But he received us with an indignant 
countenance and with angry looks, be- 
cause we had stayed away from him un- 
til then. He said to us : 

“ I will be greatly astonished if ye die 
the common death of all men, or if ye 
be visited after the visitation of all the 
world.’’ 

“ Rabbi !” I said to him, “Rabbi ! what 
death has been decreed for me ?” 

“ For you, alas ! a fearful and terrible 
death has been decreed for you. You 
will die a cruel death by the hands of 
tyrants, a death so unnatural that the 
like of it never has been seen under the 
heavens! Akiba! Akiba! I loved you 
dearly, and you was the one to oftend 
me — you. With all my might I tried to 
gain you admission into all the chambers 
of the Law, and to reveal to you its se- 
crets and holy mysteries ; with all my 
soul I desired to teach you all the secrets 
of the universe, and to initiate you into 
the mysteries of nature. But you would 
not lend me your ear, nor receive in- 
struction at my mouth, so that the foun- 
tain of wisdom flowing through my heart 
has remained sealed unto this day ; and 
now I am standing at the edge of my 
grave, this is not the lime for me to teach 
you the mysteries of wisdom, and my 
secret will be buried with me in the 
earth.” 

Then Rabbi I'eshua arose and said : 

“ The ban of excommunication is re- 
moved.” 

We all responded and said : 

“ The ban of excommunication is with- 
drawn and removed !” 

But I continued to cry bitterly, and my 
soul refused to be consoled for the loss 
of my precious teacher ; a teacher to 
whom none could be found equal in 
knowledge among all the sages of Israel; 
and there was no one among the rem- 


62 


The Fall of Bethae. 


nant of our scribes who could auswer my 
questions, and explain every mysterious 
point in religion, and every intricate 
point of law, like he. My only conso- 
lation was the certainty that I would die 
as a martyr for the sanctification, of 
God’s name and for the honor of his holy 
law. 

You. however, my dear children ! 
you will not die ; you will live to spread 
and promulgate the law in Israel, to ele- 
vate its holy flag wherever the remnant 
of Judah is banished, and to widen its 
tents from the rising of the sun even unto 
the setting thereof. You, Meir ! you 
will fill my position after my death, 
you wil teach our nation the science of 
the Law, and lead them throusdi its in- 
tricate paths; and though circumstances 
may involve you in many and divers un- 
pleasant affairs, and the sages of Israel 
may not agree with your method of ex 
pounding the Law — for they may not 
comprehend your profound knowledge — 
still, in the end, your brethren will praise 
you; they will land you in vast assemblies 
after they once understand your deep 
ideas, and they will confess that you en- 
lightened the eyes of all Israel in lle- 
ligion and Law. You, Shimeon ! you 
will be jealous for the honor of the Law, 
and always ready to fight the battles of 
truth and justice, therefore you will al- 
ways be disliked and hated. But still 
you must give yourself no rest from 
laboring in the Law until all its pro- 
found secrets are revealed before you, 
and until you understand its mysteries, 
which are hidden from the eyes of the 
living. Your name will be honored to 
the end of time. You, also, Yosi ! j^ou 
also will drink from the bitter cup, and 
great troubles will also surround you, 
but you must bend your shoulders to all 
earthly misfortunes, and bow your head 
before the waves of worldly afflictions 
and troubles, uncomplainingly. And 
you, Yehndfi ! you will be blessed on 


earth and in heaven, for religion and wis- 
dom will be entwined in your tent, like 
twin sisters they will always dwell in 
your shadow, and all the children of Is- 
rael will respect and honor, praise and 
admire you. All ye learned men and 
sages who are assembled here, may you 
all live in joy and happiness, and be ye 
strong in defending the fortress of our 
holy religion ! Let true peace abide in 
your tents, for peace is the fountain of 
life and the source of all good and bless- 
ing. Let each of j^ou love his neighbor 
as himself, and become not divided into 
different sects in matters of law and re- 
ligion. Seek for the truth, be as humble 
and as anxious to understand God and 
His law as the Pharisees, and pursue 
peace; be merciful, and investigate the 
secret foundations of the Law and its 
wonderful paths of wisdom, like the Ks- 
senes, but avoid and keep away from the 
paths of the Zaducees and Samaritans, 
and, above all, guard your souls from 
following the footsteps of the blind and 
thoughtless Epicureans. Peace be with 
you, my dear and beloved sons and dis- 
ciples, communicate my blessings to my 
sons and daughters, to my grandchildren 
and to all my relatives ; give my best 
wishes to them, the beloved of my soul, 
and tell them to remember the lessons 
which I imparted to them this morning 
before they separated from me during 
my life in this world. Impart my last 
blessings to all those who remain true 
and faithful to Israel, and tell them that 
I died gladly for the honor of God’s 
word and His holy Law. And now, my 
dear sons and disciples, now approach 
and receive your old teacher’s benedic- 
tion before he parts from you ; I will 
lift my hands from their heavy chains, 
and will pronounce on you the threefold 
blessings which were revealed to Aaron 
and his priestly sons, to bless therewitli 
the children of Israel.” 

The disciples arose and stood before 
the venerable and saintly llabbi. ’fheir 


The Fall of Bethar. 


m 


eyes were dimmed with tears, while 
their hearts were moved and thrilled with 
a holy tremor. Babbi x\kiba solemnly 
raised his hands above their heads and 
pronounced the following words : 

May God bless you and preserve 
you, may God cause his countenance to 
shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 
may God lift up his countenance unto 
you. and grant you peace.” 

When the Babbi had finished his 
blessing, the narrow door of the cell 
could be heard turning upon its hinge, 
and Papus, the Samaritan was brought 
there bound in chains, and with his feet 
in irons. 

“ Are you also here ?” asked Babbi 
Akiba; “ are j'-ou not the darling of Bu- 
fus, and the friend of Severus ?” 

“ Alas !” replied Papus, whose coun- 
tenance was pale, and who trembled 
with anger, “ alas ! when I ended my 
plot they plotted against me ; when I 
finished my revenge, vengeance was re- 
turned to my bosom ! Through my 
strong hatred to Shimeon Bar Cochba, 
and towards all the Jews, I murdered 
the king of that contemptible people. I 
was also the cause of the death of his 
beloved K^turah, and of her father Elie- 
zer llamodai ; my reports against you, 
Akiba, were so severe that you have 
been condemned to death, and all the 
mighty soldiers of Bethar I caused to 
be butchered through my unfaithfulness 
towards them, and my revenge and jeal- 
ousy was finally satisfied. And now, 
when I desire to enjoy the fruits of my 
labor, now, when I expected to receive 
honor, glory and wealth for all the work 
that I did for Bufus and Severus, now, 
alas 1 now I am condemned to death ! 
The tyrant Bufus hates me in his heart, 
because it is a disgrace and shame to him 
to see the man who held his life at his 
disposal at the time when Shimeon cap- 
tured the fortress of Caesarea through 
my cunning, for I then saved Bufus' 


life. He is also afraid of me lest I re- 
veal his cruelties, and make known his 
perfidy and unfaithfulness to the Boman 
emperor. Severus dislikes me, because 
he fears that Hadrian may discover that 
it was only through me that he con- 
quered the fortress of Bethar, and all 
the fortified cities of J udah, which would 
prevent him from receiving praise and 
glory. They gave me permission to do 
as I desired, and to commit every iniq- 
uity, and they elevated me above all the 
great aristocrats and wealthy citizens. 
The army officers and the lords of the 
empire became jealous of me, for they 
saw that my power and fame waxed 
greater every day, and they could no 
longer bear my overbearing haughtiness, 
so they unanimously declared to Bufus 
that they could no longer serve such an 
unscrupulous, unprincipled and mean 
perfume-vender like m 3 ^self. At these 
words the eyes of Bufus beamed with 
gladness, so that I easily comprehended 
that it was at his command that the 
lords complained against me. 

“ I also have heard,” replied Bufus, 
“ that he does actions in my name which 
should not be done, and now I will 
prove to the world that I enforce the law 
even upon my dearest and best friend.” 

These words astonished me, confused 
- my thoughts, and I stood gazing in silent 
wonder. When I heard loud voices of 
jeering laughter in my ears, some soldiers 
put my feet in irons, and bound me in 
heavy chains. Then my mind was 
roused from consternation, and I angril^^ 
exclaimed to Bufus : 

“Bejoice not at my downfall, you 
murderer and tyrant, you, also, will be 
punished for your unfaithfulness toward 
me, as I have been punished for my un- 
faithfulness towards others. The em- 
peror Hadrian will never pardon you for 
having destroyed his cleverest servant.” 

I had not finished my words when a 
voice of mocking laughter sounded again 


64 


The Fall of Bethar. 


to my cars, and the soldiers took me and 
dragged me into this gloomy cave. Look 
now, Akiba ! I have done everything 
that is evil, whilst you have only done 
what is good and proper in the eyes of 
God and man, and still the same thing 
happens to both of us. Tell me now, 
can there be a just God in the heavens 
above? I only wish for one thing, and 
that is to see Rufus’ death, for then I 
also would die joyfully.” 

Rabbi Akiba exclaimed : 

“ Now I would gladly die, in order 
that my eyes might no longer behold such 
a terrible traitor and murderer.” 

At the same moment the keeper of 
the prison entered, in order to lead Rab- 
bi Akiba to the place of his death. 
With a beaming countenance and joyful 
heart did the venerable sage walk towards 
that fearful place, where many Jews had 
already assembled at the command of 
Rufus, and also at the desire of Rabbi 
x\kiba, so that they might see how he 
sanctified the name of Israel’s God. 
Rufus and Rufina also came to see the 
terrible sight, many of the high aristo- 
crats, the king’s officers and the heathen 
priests had also come there. The high- 
priest of Jupiter’s temple whispered a 
few words into Rufus’ ear, when Rufus 
turned his countenance towards Rabbi 
Akiba and said : 

“ Listen to me, old man ! if you will 
worship our gods, like all the Romans, 
then you shall live and possess honor, 
power, and wealth.” 

But Rabbi Akiba laughed scornfully 
at his words and replied : 

“ How can I bestow the honor due to 
the true God upon images made by 
man’s hand ? I gladly die for the sanc- 
tification of God Almighty’s name, for 
the honor of the God of Israel, in order 
that my dei^th may remove His anger 
from His nation and heritage, and to 
show my people that the holy Law which 
our God gave unto us is the greatest and 


highest good of our life! Come here, ye 
executioners 1 and do as you have been 
commanded.” 

The executioners approached him and 
took off all his garments, until he was 
naked, they then bound him to an iron pil- 
lar, and with curry-combs gradually tore 
his flesh, in order to prolong his iearful 
agonies. All the Jews turned away 
their eyes, and wept loudly and bitterly 
for his terrible fate; but the holy Rabbi 
Akiba did not even utter a cry of pain, 
he only lifted his eyes to heaven and ex- 
claimed : 

“ Hear, 0 Israel ! the Eternal is our 
God, the Eternal is one 1” 

These words of the living God he re- 
peated again and again, until his pure 
and holy soul left his torn and bleeding 
body. A solemn silence reigned through 
the place of slaughter, when suddenly a 
deadly scream proceeded from the dun- 
geon which was near to that place. That 
voice was the last living sound of Papus, 
who was strangled by executioners at 
that moment by Rufus’ command. Ru- 
fus took a cup of wine from the hands 
of Rufina his wife, and exclaimed : 

“ I will drink this wine to the down- 
fall of the rebellious Jews.” 

He drank the wine with joy, but fell ‘ 
dead upon the ground, for the wine had 
been drugged with deadly poison wliich 
kills instantly. This had been prepared 
by Rufina his wife, who being in love 
with Severus, the General of the Roman 
army, thought it best to banish her hus- 
band from the ffice of the earth. 

******** 

But in heaven above the Seraphim 
wept, and the angels of peace cried bit- 
terly : 

“ Oh God, Righteous Judge ! shall 
the righteous die like the wicked, and 
shall there be no distinction between the 
good and the bad ?” 

When the voice of God was heard ex- 
claiming from his holy palace, and its 
glorious and solemn . echo penetrated 
even to the slaughtering place on the 
earth beneath: 

“ Happy art thou Akiba, for my sake 
thou didst lead a virtuous life, and for 
my sake thou didst die the death of the 
righteous, now thou wilt enjoy eternal 
bliss and everlasting happiness in Eden, 
my garden.” 

THE END. 






P 


THE 




By I>AV1I> STERN, 

Rabbi of the Temple Congregation, of Peoria, 111. 






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